Some thoughts on race

C left a little while ago to attend a scholarship meeting at Zi’s school.  They are working with the state of Georgia to offer non-need based scholarships (more details to come).  When we were discussing it, I said that I thought Zi had a good chance of getting such a scholarship because she is Asian.  That started me thinking about race.

I believe in affirmative action.  I believe that until we address the wrongs from the past (in financial, emotional, political, and social ways), we will continue to have divides in our society.  I also think that the divides between classes are just as detrimental as the divides between races.

So, after C left, I started to examine how I feel about Zi getting “advantages” in areas such as scholarships.  After all, if affirmative action is in place to help correct the long historical disadvantages people of color have faced, should Zi qualify for them?  

C and I read an article this week that reported on some of the latest studies about the nurture/nature debate.  This study looked at almost 1000 sets of twins ages 3 and under and found that for lower-income children, nurture factors (education levels, home environment, value systems, etc) were far more important to child “success” than genetics.  So, if you have a poor family that stresses education, that nurturing far out ways genetic factors.  However, for higher income families, genetics is the major determining factor.  How can this be?  Well, the study showed that kids from wealthy families have all of the advantages (they have books in the home, quality childcare, parents who worry about which instrument their kid should play (not if they play one)) and therefore, the only thing that holds them back is their ability levels. 

Now, supposing this theory is true, Zi will fall into the second category.  The only thing that will hold her back will be her ability level.  This will also be true of baby X soon to come.  Why should Zi get additional advantages, then?

Well, I started to think about what her life will be like.  While she will have all the advantages of having white, wealthy parents, she will also have to live in the body of an Asian-American woman.  She will be stereotyped, judged, and probably treated very differently because of how she looks.  Is this enough to justify our accepting advantages for her?  I don’t know.