Hello Meltingpot Readers,
I am going to assume that by this time, you’ve all heard about Operation Varsity Blues, aka, the nation’s largest college cheating scandal. If by chance this incredibly tacky display of wealth and privilege has not yet crossed your social media feed, check out this article from the New York Times to get up to speed. Basically, the FBI arrested 33 people who paid to get their unqualified children into elite colleges and universities. And these weren’t payments of a few hundred or a few thousand dollars. People were paying up to a half-a-million dollars to get their offspring into the college of their dreams.
Besides the fact that this whole enterprise is the epitome of injustice and mocks the hard work that thousands of young people perform to legally win acceptance to these schools, it also brings up old wounds for people of color. My social media feeds have been inundated with the testimonies of Black men and women who were accused of “stealing” the spots of deserving white kids because of affirmative action. I know I experienced that, my sister did too. Apparently, this is just part of the package of being young, gifted and Black in America. While I wasn’t shocked by the fact that this happens, I was surprised at how frequently and with how much vitriol.
What about the Children?
So, I am staying in a wait and see position to see what the fallout from this scandal will look like. Companies like Sephora and the Hallmark channel have already severed ties with the women of the Loughlin family. Yale University has said that they will rescind any offers of admission to students who were accepted into the school through fraud. In the meantime though, I have to ask, what about the children? What do we tell our Black and Brown children in the aftermath of Operation Varsity Blues? Many of them may now be thinking, “What is the point of trying to get into an elite school when Becky’s dad can just buy her way in?” Or some might be thinking, “I’m always going to be accused of being an Affirmative Action acceptance when it’s really Chad who doesn’t belong here, but nobody will ever know that.” And what about our Asian-American children who are also part of this conversation because they are also often scapegoated as the people stealing college seats from well-deserving white kids. The truth of the matter is, the only stealing going on in college admissions has been perpetuated by those wealthy enough to buy their kids’ acceptance letters.
And while we as parents are only too aware of these things, we have to give our kids something to believe in so they don’t think the system is totally rigged. We don’t want them totally demoralized. We have to give them a way to see a brighter future. We have to let them know that Becky and Chad aren’t actually winning. We need our kids to believe in their own possibilities and in their own greatness, because really, they are our greatest hope for a better future.
So, here are five snarky-ass things you can tell your Black and Brown children so they don’t give up the dream.
1. Dumb and Dumber.
Becky and Chad weren’t intelligent or talented enough to get into college on their own merits.Their parents couldn’t buy them new brains, so they had to try to buy their way into college, but you see that didn’t work out very well.
2. Millionaires ain’t Loyal.
Operation Varsity Blues got started when one financial executive blabbed about this whole scheme to lessen his prison time for securities fraud. Lesson learned, if something illegal is going down with the wealthy set, just find the weakest link and stuff will probably crumble.
3. Money can buy you a place at the table, but it can’t keep you there…
Especially if you’re not that smart and you break the law.
4. Wannabes and Rockstars
Even with all of the wealth and privilege that these kids had, they still couldn’t accomplish what you did with a fraction of their resources. That obviously makes you a rock star while they might be considered B-list material at best.
5. The Truth Should Set You Free…And Send their Parents to Jail.
Understand that there will always be racial and social injustice in the world, but now you know that many times the people in power – who often have power because they have wealth – are morons. (See the 45th president of the United States.) That should empower you and make you realize that you can out think them, outsmart them and find solutions that they will never think of. You have the mental strength, resiliency and education that they paid for, but you earned. Embrace that and take over the world!
