In the hierarchy of court systems, lower-level courts (typically referred to as trial courts or district courts) handle the dirty work of sifting through an ass-load of witness testimonies, pretrial hearings, exhibit litigation, etc.
Mar 24, 2023·edited Mar 24, 2023Liked by Yassine Meskhout
Why is the judge running interference here? I obviously get why Harvard wants this kind of stuff under seal but the judge seems to be trying to balance the public interest vs protecting Harvard's reputation on the subject matter of this very case.
And my understanding is that this was a trial without a jury (from the article in the New Yorker), what is even the legitimate purpose of a sidebar in those cases, I'd assume just to discuss what should be under seal?
I always for get to add this kind of thing: Liked the article love this kind of reporting on how the inner workings of systems lead to certain outcomes.
Oh wow, I totally missed the part where there was no jury. As you say, the sidebars are still useful to discuss what should be sealed, but those discussions would be limited and rare, and they make a lot less sense without a jury around.
If it's true that this is driven by an elite consensus that Asian swatters are the wrong sort of people, then a judge comes from just the right social class to play along.
Mar 23, 2023·edited Mar 23, 2023Liked by Yassine Meskhout
Of course Harvard and other elite colleges discriminate against Asians. I don't need some crude and tasteless memo to tell me that, although I am surprised that anyone would put something so ugly in writing.
The reason isn't even necessarily racial animus, per se. Just as the Ivies once discriminated against Jews and Catholics - Asian strivers tend to be The Wrong Sort Of People who come from the wrong social classes and who have the wrong attitudes.
The point of sending your kid to Stanford or Harvard is so that your kid will rub shoulders with The Right Sort Of People, the sort of humans who know that they were just born to rule the world and never really questioned this self-obvious truth. Admit too many kids who are trying too hard all at once, kids whose parents worked 18 hour days at a dry cleaner or convenience store and the wrong sort of messages might get sent, the wrong sort of values encouraged. People might even question their social betters!
Just as the de facto quotas on Jews were relaxed, once enough Jews became members of the upper classes with the right sort of WASPy values that they wouldn't mess up the social mix at Yale, I suspect that this will change with time, regardless of any lawsuit.
Yeah. most American Jews used to be anti-affirmative action, but now the leading Jewish orgs are pro-affirmative action.
And what I'm seeing with Asians now is that the Asian elites that know how to crack the code are supporting affirmative action at the expense of the working-class Asians that can't. Elite members of any minority group are the ones most likely to sell non-elite members out for clout.
I am sure that this is racist, sexist, etc. to point this out, but the principal beneficiaries of affirmative action as it is practiced are upper class women and upper class blacks.
Well, i am hardly an expert, and I know that this is racist, sexist, and homophobic to point this stuff out, but there is a huge divide in the Caribbean between mixed-race people and black people, and in Latin America between people of mostly European descent and those who are more Indian, with blacks at the bottom.
In Latin America, much like in India, there is a whole range of descriptors for skin tone. The more Europeanized, of course, the higher on the totem pole. I guess that's also problematic for me to use the words "totem pole".
Of course, for US AA purposes, the privileged son of a German immigrant to Panama and a Bolivian straight out of an Andean village (Do Not Pass "Go" Do Not Collect 200 Bolivianos) for whom Spanish is a second language are all "Latinx" and earn the same number of Wokemon points.
Why is the judge running interference here? I obviously get why Harvard wants this kind of stuff under seal but the judge seems to be trying to balance the public interest vs protecting Harvard's reputation on the subject matter of this very case.
And my understanding is that this was a trial without a jury (from the article in the New Yorker), what is even the legitimate purpose of a sidebar in those cases, I'd assume just to discuss what should be under seal?
I always for get to add this kind of thing: Liked the article love this kind of reporting on how the inner workings of systems lead to certain outcomes.
Oh wow, I totally missed the part where there was no jury. As you say, the sidebars are still useful to discuss what should be sealed, but those discussions would be limited and rare, and they make a lot less sense without a jury around.
Maybe he's a true believer?
If it's true that this is driven by an elite consensus that Asian swatters are the wrong sort of people, then a judge comes from just the right social class to play along.
Of course Harvard and other elite colleges discriminate against Asians. I don't need some crude and tasteless memo to tell me that, although I am surprised that anyone would put something so ugly in writing.
The reason isn't even necessarily racial animus, per se. Just as the Ivies once discriminated against Jews and Catholics - Asian strivers tend to be The Wrong Sort Of People who come from the wrong social classes and who have the wrong attitudes.
The point of sending your kid to Stanford or Harvard is so that your kid will rub shoulders with The Right Sort Of People, the sort of humans who know that they were just born to rule the world and never really questioned this self-obvious truth. Admit too many kids who are trying too hard all at once, kids whose parents worked 18 hour days at a dry cleaner or convenience store and the wrong sort of messages might get sent, the wrong sort of values encouraged. People might even question their social betters!
Just as the de facto quotas on Jews were relaxed, once enough Jews became members of the upper classes with the right sort of WASPy values that they wouldn't mess up the social mix at Yale, I suspect that this will change with time, regardless of any lawsuit.
Yeah. most American Jews used to be anti-affirmative action, but now the leading Jewish orgs are pro-affirmative action.
And what I'm seeing with Asians now is that the Asian elites that know how to crack the code are supporting affirmative action at the expense of the working-class Asians that can't. Elite members of any minority group are the ones most likely to sell non-elite members out for clout.
https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/news/articles/double-crossed
I am sure that this is racist, sexist, etc. to point this out, but the principal beneficiaries of affirmative action as it is practiced are upper class women and upper class blacks.
It used to be upper class women, but now women are the majority in almost schools besides STEM-focused ones.
Upper-class Black people, definitely. Also, Black students at elite colleges tend to be immigrants from Nigeria/Ghana and their children.
I thought a fair number of Caribbean blacks as well, but I may be out of touch here.
Caribbeans too. As well as Black students that have one non-Black parent.
Similar situation with Hispanics. A huge chunk of it is White people from Spain and their descendants.
Well, i am hardly an expert, and I know that this is racist, sexist, and homophobic to point this stuff out, but there is a huge divide in the Caribbean between mixed-race people and black people, and in Latin America between people of mostly European descent and those who are more Indian, with blacks at the bottom.
In Latin America, much like in India, there is a whole range of descriptors for skin tone. The more Europeanized, of course, the higher on the totem pole. I guess that's also problematic for me to use the words "totem pole".
Of course, for US AA purposes, the privileged son of a German immigrant to Panama and a Bolivian straight out of an Andean village (Do Not Pass "Go" Do Not Collect 200 Bolivianos) for whom Spanish is a second language are all "Latinx" and earn the same number of Wokemon points.