Ross Douthat inadvertently explains where racism comes from

New York Times columnist Ross Douthat, who also appears in your girlfriend's graduate program

Canny invoker Ross Douthat cannily invokes Pat Buchanan in his New York Times column from Monday, in which he suggests that Harvard and other Ivy League institutions discriminate against working class, rural and conservative whites. This position is, of course, extremely popular with white racists, which is why Douthat chooses to open his column with something Buchanan did in 2000. When the former Nixon speechwriter spoke at Harvard in March of that year, he was greeted with jeers, accusations of bigotry, and pretty much every other expression of anger you can carry off in a pink polo shirt. Buchanan’s claim that contemporary America persecutes white Christians is laughable, but Douthat observes that it’s the same note currently sounded by Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh, and other vital elements of contemporary conservatism. One of those elements turns out to be Douthat himself, who gives us this third paragraph:

To liberals, these grievances seem at once noxious and ridiculous. (Is there any group with less to complain about, they often wonder, than white Christian Americans?) But to understand the country’s present polarization, it’s worth recognizing what Pat Buchanan got right.

And thus does an old myth smear itself with lipstick before trying on its new dress.

Douthat cites a study by two Princeton sociologists of admissions practices at “eight highly selective colleges and universities”—presumably the Ivies minus Brown and Penn, plus Duke and Stanford—* that found that white and Asian students needed higher grades and test scores than their black and hispanic counterparts to get in. That’s not surprising or even particularly unjust, given the Ivies’ financial incentive to diversify their student bodies and their long histories as bastions of white privilege, respectively. “What was striking,” about the study, Douthat writes, “was which whites were most disadvantaged by the process: the downscale, the rural and the working-class.”

According to the study, white applicants from lower socioeconomic backgrounds were less likely to be admitted than their wealthier white counterparts, whereas the opposite principle held true within the black and hispanic application cadres. Moreover, the study found that activities like ROTC, Future Farmers of America, and 4-H actually hurt an applicant’s chances of admission rather than helping. “Consciously or unconsciously,” Douthat writes, “the gatekeepers of elite education seem to incline against candidates who seem too stereotypically rural or right-wing or ‘Red America.'”

It’s a killer theory, in that it combines two classic anxieties of conservative America—liberal elites are conspiring against conservative commoners, and affirmative action has made whites into a second class. Unfortunately, it’s utter bunk. There’s a clear reason why an upper-class background is an advantage for whites and not for minorities: money.

Harvard and other extremely expensive schools rely heavily on alumni donations, and it’s no secret that a prospective freshman whose parents are already millionaires is much more likely to generate post-graduation income than one who may or may not go out and get himself rich. All things considered, Harvard would like to admit as many heirs and heiresses as possible.

That’s why we have diversity funding, financial aid, and programs that reward colleges for admitting poor people and ethnic minorities, since the first group contains a disproportionate number of the second. In that context, the study’s finding that the Ivies would rather admit poor blacks and hispanics than poor white people makes perfect sense. If we’re counting the number of minority students and the number of economically disadvantaged students, a poor black freshman counts as two where a poor white freshman only counts as one. Not only do you get a twofer on your diversity scorecard for admitting the poor black student, buy you also free up space for one more rich white kid.

Douthat briefly acknowledges the money angle, but he believes the FFA and ROTC evidence* proves that the real culprit is liberal elite bias. “The most underrepresented groups on elite campuses often aren’t racial minorities,” he claims. “They’re working-class whites (and white Christians in particular) from conservative states and regions.”

That’s a startling fact, perhaps because it is not true. The most underrepresented group at Harvard is American Indians, who make up .6% of the student body. After that it’s African Americans, with 6%. While the percentage of “working-class whites” is not a reported statistic, 51% of Harvard students receive financial aid from the university. Even if every single black, Hispanic, Native American and Asian Harvard student is getting institutional aid, they still only make 23.4% of Harvard enrollment—meaning that 27.6% of Harvard students are white and on scholarship.

At 1/4 of the population—again, this assumes that every single minority at Harvard is there on scholarship—whites who have qualified for financial aid are by no means an “underrepresented group,” much less the most underrepresented. Once you realize that Douthat’s fact is demonstrably false, his claim that “This [underrepresentation] breeds paranoia, among elite and non-elites alike,” becomes a curious reversal of cause and effect. Maybe the paranoia is why Douthat believes whites are being discriminated against, and not the other way around.

In most cases, that seems to be how majority-group fear of racism works. Having wholly dominated the Ivy Leagues for over two centuries, white Christians are now slightly less dominant, thanks to a conscious effort to increase diversity. Ergo, white Christians are the victims of prejudice. That the overwhelming majority of Harvard students and faculty are white and Christian is irrelevant; the point is that their stranglehold is slightly looser than before. Few would argue that constitutes persecution, unless of course they were hoping to lay claim to one more thing.

Combat! blog is free. Why not share it?
Tweet about this on TwitterShare on FacebookShare on Reddit

8 Comments

  1. I don’t disagree with the thesis, but I want to point out that the number slinging in the first and second to last paragraphs don’t quite prove your point. A better look would be to compare financial aid rates among whites controlling for the cost of tuition. If you control for the cost of tuition, then look at financial aid, admissions variables, etc then the numbers will get very interesting. Now to find the data…

  2. I actually found Douthat’s column pretty thought-provoking, but your analysis here helps me see some of the leaps he makes. Your data isn’t perfect, but I don’t think you need to prove anything other than that Douthat’s claims are dubious. He says working-class whites from conservatives states are the most underrepresented, but he doesn’t have any data to back it up. He has the burden of proof and doesn’t bring it. As you note, he largely just plays into existing fears.

  3. A less charitable blogger might have noted that Douthat criticizes Harvard’s diversity policies in the very column he was given as a diversity hire–more conservative ballast for the NYT editorial section.

  4. The idea that a white Christian class is “underrepresented” at elite schools is dubious, yes, when you look at this from the point of view of a director of admissions, who is presumably charged to increase the diversity of the various “races”.

    But I’m guessing it’s also true that from the point of view an extraordinarily bright kid hoping to get into these schools, the worst ethnic and socioeconomic background you could have is rural, lower class white. Those who believe themselves nonwhite and claim so on their forms can get a bit of a bump from affirmative action, and (more vitally) upper class whites’ parents can hire Dan to come to their houses to coach them for the SATs etc. This leaves the lower class whites out. Isn’t it reasonable that these kids, and their parents, would be a little peeved? Isn’t it possible that this situation would even create a bit of unwarranted, exaggerated pessimism about the process and paranoia about elites’ intentions?

    Also, how the fuck do you define “the races”? Everyone in the States is pretty mixed at this point, and there never was such a thing as any “pure” “race” to begin with. The whole thing irks me, and I’d love to see affirmative action move to wholly economic criteria.

  5. Most Reverent, please submit This Most Patriotic and Most Faithful Message, also personally and specially, to a Nationally Significant and Patriotic Friend. Thank you!
    “OUR MOST BELOVED AMERICA’S” MOST CROOKEDLY SATANIC ANTI-AMERICAN POLITICKING AND RELIGIONISM!
    Most Reverent, This Most Earnest Patriotic Appeal was also submitted to All The Presidents of Our American Universities, and to Their Provosts – submitted to both personally!
    UNIVERSAL RELIGIONISM AND POLITICKING!
    This Most Loving Prayer is also addressed to All Top Religious and Politicking World Leaders – Most Faithfully!
    This is all and only about The Most Criminal World-Wide RELIGIONISM AND POLITICKING EVER!
    All that Our Whole Wide World has ever needed, and still presently needs foremost and more than ever, is A TRULY AMERICAN NATIONAL INCORRUPT REEVALUATION!
    “MERRY CHRISTMASTIMES !!!” “HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!” “HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!” “HAPPY NEW CENTURIES!
    ALMIGHTY GOD’S TRUE NUCLEAR DEMOCRACY SHALL NEVER EXIST IN OUR AMERICA UNTIL BOTH TRUE DEMOCRACY’S UNIVERSAL MOST BASIC FUNCTIONAL LITERACY, AND UNIVERSAL MOST BASIC TRUE“GOOD SAMARITAN” HEALTH INSURANCE ARE CONSTITUTIONALLY COMPELLED AS MOST CRIMINALLY PUNISHABLE! THAT IS, UNTIL OUR INSATIABLE ULTRA-WEALTHY CORRUPT “CORPORATISM” GIVE A TRUE EXAMPLE FOR SUCH A SACRED UNIVERSAL HUMAN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY – FOR THE SAKE OF OUR MOST EXPLOITED AS MOST SUFFERING ILLITERATE AND POOREST HEALTH-UNINSURED AMERICAN BROTHERS!
    Almighty God did not write His Bible just to “Inspire” The Implacable Religionist “Sacrosanct” Church-Like Corporations of This World to use IT as toilet paper; that is, to use IT as Such a Globalized, Religionist, Materialist, PIOUSLY MUM, AND SO ULTIMATELY EQUALLY SUICIDAL-TERRORIST,SUBLIMINAL INHUMAN EXPLOITATION!
    Why ”THE TRULY UNIVERSAL CHURCH” – AS “FREE AND SEPARATE FROM THE STATE” – NEVER TAKE ALL OF THESE AS ITS TRUE DAILY PREACHING INITIATIVE – AS ITS TRUE RELIGIOUS LEADERS DID BEFORE???!!! BECAUSE THEY ARE NOT ANYMORE “THE TRUE SERVANTS OF ALMIGHTY GOD” (AS THEY SO FERVENTLY CLAIM) BUT OF THE GOVERNMENTAL “MOST COMFORTABLE” RAPACIOUS CORPORATIST MOST INHUMAN WORLD POLITICS OF EXPLOITAION!!!
    WHY ABSOLUTELY NOBODY SPEAKS ANYTHING – SPECIALLY AT THE MOST IMPORTANT ELECTION TIME – ABOUT DENOUNCING AND UPROOTING ONCE AND FOR ALL THE HIGHEST LEVEL OF OUR “AMERICAN” ILLITERACY AND LACK OF TRULY DEMOCRATIC UNIVERSAL “GOOD SAMARITAN” ALSO INDISPENSABLE MOST BASIC HEALTH INSURANCE!
    THE TRUTHFULLNESS EVER MISSING IN ALL OF OUR SUPER-POLITICAL SPEECHES, ALWAYS PRETENDING TO “HONOR” OUR MOST BELOVED AMERICA – AND MOST SORELY MISSING FOR OUR AMERICA’S SALVATION – IS THE TRULY POLITICAL, TRULY RELIGIOUS, AND TRULY PATRIOTIC DEMOCRATIC INSPIRATION!
    WHY ARE WE SO SILANTLY MOST OBSTINATE AND MOST ANTIPATRIOTIC!!!???
    MAY WE ALL TRUE AMERICANS ALWAYS TRULY PRAY SO THAT WE ALL TRUE SOLID AMERICANS REALLY ENABLE ALMIGHY GOD TO EVER BLESS (SAVE) OUR MOST BELOVED TRUE AMERICA!!!
    OTHERWISE, ANY OTHER “CRIME” OR “ABORTION” IS AN INNOCENT BY-PRODUCT!!!

  6. Most Respectful, submit This Most Patriotic and Most Faithful Message also personally and specially to a Nationally Significant Patriotic Friend. Thank you!
    OUR “MOST BELOVED” AMERICA’S MOST CROOKEDLY EVIL ANTI-AMERICAN “CORPORATISM”!
    Most Respectfully, This Most Earnest Patriotic Appeal was also submitted to almost all of The Heads Our Churches and to almost all of The Presidents and Provosts of Our Universities – “personally”!
    UNIVERSAL PSEUDO-CORPORATISM!!!
    This Most-Loving Prayer was also addressed to all Top Politicking and Religious Leaders of The World!
    THE WORST CRIME, EVER, AGAINST ALMIGHTY GOD’S HUMANITY – FOREVER?
    (In True Honor to Dr. Martin Luther King’s Most Patriotic Legacy!)
    The Nucleus of Our Whole World’s Ever-Growing Suicidal Nuclear Crisis is created by No Other than the most Defrauding and Most Greedy Ultra-Conservative and by the most Ultra-Libertine Politico-Religionism everywhere – Universally! Our Whole World has no True Religion anywhere!
    The Nucleus of The Most-Dominant Over-Ambition of Our Universal True Atheism is none other than The Most Voracious Globally Inhuman “Corporatist” Economic Exploitation; all by the most Extreme Global Disregard to The Most Fundamental UNIVERSAL HUMAN LITERACY and also to The Most Fundamental UNIVERSAL GOOD-SAMARITAN HEALTH INSURANCE. These two together Indeed Constitute ALMIGHTY GOD’S TRUE UNIVERSAL ELEMENTAL DEMOCRACY’S Most Vitally Essential Means for TRUE INDIVIDUAL EQUAL OPPORTUNITY to reach THOSE INDISPENSABLE ALMIGHTY GOD’S INDIVIDUAL ELEMENTAL HUMAN GIFTS (RIGHTS), NO-MORE, NO-LESS!!!
    All of Our Vast World-Wide Perpetually Shackled – AS ILLITERATE AND INFIRM – HUMANITY in Our Western World is ever more and more so “CRUCIFIED” as threatened with impunity by instilling in them “Our” Religionist-Inculcated Utmost Fear of “GOING TO HELL” if they have “NO FAITH” – that is, if disobedient to “Our” Politico-Religionist False “Leadership”; as just like telling them “THEIR ‘HEAVEN’ IS LIVING IN OUR SATANIC EXPLOITATION”!
    Our Totally Politico-Religionist Western World has always even tried to expand Our Most Voracious Greedy Corporatism to Our Islamic Eastern World’s “Friendly” Governments, but I most-strongly suspect that Islamic Religionism has an opposite but Equally Religionist-Inhuman Self-Defense: when Our Western Corporatist Inhuman Intervention reach their Eastern Critical Religionist Level – as in Our Unending Warring Perplexity with The Islamic World – Their Islamic Religionist Counteracting General “’Inspiration’-To-Go-To-Heaven” is no other than Their Ultra-Terrorist “Salvific” Individual Self-Immolation!
    ALL OF THESE, FOR SURE SO FAR, ARE THE IRREFUTABLE PORTENDING SYMBOLISM OF A-MOST CERTAIN-NUCLEAR ARMAGEDDON: THERE IS NOT THE SLIGHTEST DOUBT ABOUT THE CERTAINTY OF THE WHOLE WORLD’S TOTAL HOLOCAUST! MAY WE TRULY PRAY, SO THAT WE ALL – TRULY AND SOLIDLY HONEST AMERICANS – REALLY ENABLE THE ALMIGHTY GOD TO BLESS (SAVE) OUR MOST BELOVED TRUE AMERICA!!! OTHERWISE, ANY OTHER “CRIME” OR “ABORTION” IS AN INNOCENT BY-PRODUCT!!!

Leave a Comment.