2001-01-03 - 17:46:24

The Friday before XXXmas, when I was in Detroit, I went to the Federal Building downtown to hear the judge decide whether or not there'd be a trial for the affirmative action case against the University of Michigan Law School. The university has their own representation, & there's also a lawyer who kicks ass named Miranda Massey, who is representing the student intervenors. She totally rules. The students were able to sign on as intervenors in the case because they will be directly affected by the outcome. So, the courtroom was packed with black, latino, & anti-racist white students. And old people like me who are not students. Each lawyer got an hour to talk about whether there should be a trial, & what issues should be covered in that trial. The U of M lawyer was incredible. I could not believe what disgusting grounds they found upon which to argue for affirmative action. Their entire argument for "diversity" which was the weak & gross word they used in place of affirmative action, was that it's better for white students to have the benefit of meeting people from many different cultures. Seriously. It's like, all these colorful people from different backgrounds make really lovely scenery that you can learn from, so we need them! Like it's Epcot. God. After he spoke, as we were all picking our jaws up off the floor, Emily leaned over toward me & Dave & asked "Don't you just hate liberals?" Yes. Yes, I do. So, Miranda got up next & of course turned everything around by stating at the beginning that of course she agrees that it's better to have a diverse campus, people can learn better & all that, but that is not true issue. The right of minorities to an education? That is the issue. That that is such a radical thing to argue for! Jesus christ. So, Miranda talked about how we need a trial, & the judge asked her if he were going to definitely rule in favor of U of M, would she still think we need a trial? Her answer was yes. Because we need the precedent of winning affirmative action in the courts (which will only happen with action in the streets, regardless of the skill of any lawyer) on a strong anti-racist basis. We need to win it because people refuse to give up what was won during the civil rights movement, and because people understand & support the rights of minorities & poor people to education. Not on the basis the university was arguing. So, after being condescending to Miranda, telling her it's nice to see someone "with enthusiasm", "who actually believes what they're saying", dude said there'll be a trial. It's sooo exciting. And it's so much bigger than this trial, because everyone involved in it sees it as bigger than that, & will build a further movement from a victory in that courtroom. I can't wait. If you're in Michigan, there's an MLK day march Jan 15th at the university. GO!!! Take as many people as you can. There is education stuff going on all that weekend. Go to bamn.com, & there's info plus a link for info on the entire weekend. I of course do not know how to put links in my diary cuz....I'm too cool? Cool being a code word for retarded.

Last night I saw "American Psycho." I really liked it. It made me laugh a lot, & he had the exact same musical taste as you do!

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