Phony campus racist claims cost hundreds of real jobs

Most of you have likely heard that the University of Missouri, whose administration completely caved in to demands from black student activists over largely disproved campus racism, has suffered declining enrollments as a consequence. What most of us don’t take into account are the real costs in human misery those lower freshmen enrollment numbers carry with them. UM had already shuttered several freshmen dorms last year, the first year after the protests, due to smaller incoming classes, but as the trend continues with another 14% freshman enrollment reduction expected this coming fall, the Missouri legislature has hit the university system budget with a 6.6% reduction in core funding, necessitating the elimination of close to 500 jobs with more than 300 of those at that notoriously “racist” flagship campus in Columbia.

Back when those first dorms closed, few of us likely even paused to consider the associated job losses. But large buildings require maintenance and with these being domiciles, likely numerous housekeeping jobs as well. Anyone care to hazard a guess as to how many of those jobs were held by blacks or other people of color? Since many of the incidents that caused all this grief were found to be hoaxes and the charges of widespread campus racism were found to be largely unfounded until the protests inspired them, this contrived incident drummed up by black Social Justice Warriors clearly has cost many blacks and other people of color their jobs. Once again, the unintended consequences of rampant liberalism has harmed the very folks these rabid liberals say they want to protect.

But now the damages go deeper since concerned parents, white and black, have decided to send their freshmen children to less racially troubled schools. The resultant declining enrollments and tuitions have caused the legislature to enact budget cuts to save $100 million, forcing the UM administration to axe almost 500 positions. Consider the fact that black organizations frequently complain that in layoffs blacks are the first to go. Even if that is not the case here, of 474 jobs on the chopping block, how many of those are likely to be blacks and other people of color, multiple dozens at the least? And what about all those other folks, whites, Asians, Jews, Muslims, who are going to lose their jobs? Were they all mean spirited and racist, deserving of the life crises they will now face?

It is a sad truth, an inconvenient truth, so to speak, that liberals have a tin ear for this sort of irony. One definition for inconvenient is “embarrassing” which certainly is applicable to those whose bad behaviors set in motion these sad events for their people. There’s just one problem with that: Liberals seem to live in a state beyond feeling normal human embarrassment for their screw-ups; they are so steeped in dishonesty and hypocrisy that even when shown the spoiled fruits of their folly they are utterly unfazed and unrepentant, but most importantly, blithely unaccountable.

Crossposted at American Thinker

Category: Politics