I read a headline in the Washington Post, I think it was, over by the copy machine earlier. It said something about how Obama plans to increase spending to help close the economic gaps between people. I don't take issue with this, probably because I don't know what the hell it means, but it did make me think of how so many people want to close gaps. I do not understand that want. Why should a janitor earn as much as a surgeon? There SHOULD be a gap. A large one, I hope.
Another area where people are "close the gap" crazy is school. If there's a gap in grades or attendance between one race of student and another, the schools hurry to close the gap. This seems rather backward to me. Both incidences I'vee sited do.
If a gap exists, take a look at it. Figure out why it's there. If it's there for reasons that are appropriate, leave it alone. If it's there for suspect reasons, investigate the suspects, and if found to be bad, take them up at the roots. To alter pay that is appropriate or tests that are appropriate in order to fill a gap is just plain wrong. Fix the problem if it's fixable. Leave what's good alone.
I've noticed that Asian people tend to perform better academically than Americans, generally speaking. There's a gap there. I've noticed that white Americans tend to perform better academically than black Americans, generally speaking. There's another gap. Those gaps might exist for many different reasons. Some might be appropriate, or just the way things are. Some might be inappropriate, and those need to be uprooted.
I think some people get offended by gaps in any system that's in place to measure progress or accomplishment. People don't like to judge- don't like to say that one is better than another. So if one person makes more money than another, that could be construed as a way of calling that person better than the other, and we can't have that! Personally, if someone I knew thought that earning more meant a damn thing about how much "better" or "worse" than another a person is, I would not think highly of them. I think maybe 1/2- most people are the same way in that regard. Yet, if there's an economic gap, it must be filled! Why?
Another "gappy" area is prison. I've heard that there are more blacks than whites in prisons across America. I've heard that this is due to the fact that more blacks than whites are arrested. I've heard that this is due to the fact that cops hate black people. Last year, I think it was, I looked around the internet for some numbers to flesh this argument out. since I don't recall everything I found, I'll probably re-do my research, but I did see that there are more blacks than whites in American prisons. Check one. I did find that more blacks than whites are arrested in America. Check two. I found that lots of people think cops hate black people. I found that a lot of people don't think cops hate black people. My own thought is that some cops hate black people, some cops hate white people....they are a part of our society. Some are jerks. There's no getting around that. But to make a claim that the high population of blacks in prisons is because cops hate black people is absurd. Even if it weren't absurd, how would one go about proving such a claim? Get confessions from millions of black-hating police officers? Anyway- there's another gap. It is there. Now WHY is it there? Figure that out, then fix the actual problem. Don't just start arresting whites that haven't committed crimes worthy of sentences, and don't fail to arrest blacks when they do commit worthy crimes. If there's a fault with the law, fix that.
I heard a story on MPR some time ago about how some are pushing for a change in drug conviction sentences. They want prison time for certain crack and cocaine offenses to be lowered, as it causes an undue burden on young black males. Well....I guess if you think that the arrest was unjust, you could fight that. Otherwise, the punishment is the punishment. It's not like it's a different sentence for white crack and cocaine dealers. (and if that is the case, then fight that) It's more of a burden on young black males because young black males sell more crack and cocaine than anybody else. No, I don't have numbers on that one. I am sure some will say that it only looks that way because more young black males get arrested for it, but I say they are putting their cart before their horse. I have KNOWN drug dealers of many varities, and black guys sell crack and cocaine. Everybody knows it. So when someone tells me it's not true and it only looks that way because cops hate blacks, I just have to see that they're wrong.
Anyhoo- running amok style gap closing just seems like a way to not have to look at the fact that there are differences between people. A way not to even recognize the fact that there are measures of good and bad, of better and worse.
But, if you go around closing gaps because of this, you have already made a judgement about what's good and bad, about what's better and worse. You've decided it is bad to have gaps and it is better that we close them up. You have, in effect, created a gap. The gap between you and anybody who would leave a gap alone.
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