Wednesday, 26 March 2008
Kentucky is Still A Racist and Sexist State
Over the weekend, the Lexington Herald brought out articles that showed how poorly represented women and blacks are in the state legislature and how we need to do more to change it. All of which is poppycock.
The "under representation" of each group is easily explained and not as nefarious as the left wants us to believe. First let's start with the black representation in the legislature. There are two reasons they are underpopulated and neither of them are because of racism.
First the black populations in Kentucky tend to be concentrated geographically. In many of the districts where a black is the representative has a majority black population. The concentration means that other districts have a very small minority of black population meaning it is less likely to be represented by blacks.
Let's say the population of district A is 5% black. That means 1 out of every 20 legislatures will be black. If the average politician is in office 10 years then a black should be the representative in that district once in every 200 years. With that type of population, it is not surprising that many districts are still represented by whites.
Secondly, the black population and especially activists are almost monolithically liberal. Can anyone name any black elected official in Kentucky that isn't a liberal? When looking at the state's political leanings it is definitely conservative. Therefore it is not a far stretch to understand why blacks haven't fared well electorally. Obama is a perfect example. He will lose Kentucky in the fall. Not because we are racists but because he is one of the most liberal senators in Washington.
Women on the other hand are a different story. They are more diverse politically than blacks and is reflected in the state legislature. For example, Representatives Marizan and Stein represent the left while Senator Denton represents the right.
In addition to political diversity, women are dispersed more evenly across the state's population. Why are they under represented in the legislature? It must be sexism. Right?
Not so fast my friend. The under representation is a pure numbers game. More men than women run for political office. The gap isn't even close. The phenomenon is similar to engineering profession. It is not that women can't be engineers, it is just for some reason women don't enter the field. When I was in engineering school at U of L we had only a handful of women in our classes. The low numbers had nothing to do with sexism and everything to do with personal choice. Until more women run for office they will be always be under represented.
In Kentucky's history racism and sexism have been influential in politics. Fortunately, those days are past us. The baby boomers and generations after have moved past the old ways of thinking into a post racial and sexist world. Now if only we can get the left to recognize how far we have come and stop trying to play the victim card, we can truly move on to a new day.
