Not long ago I spoke to the fearless Heather Mac Donald, author of When Race Trumps Merit, about how the toxic doctrine of “disparate impact” has undermined standards of all kinds, all across society.
Symphony orchestras, for example, are known for holding their auditions behind a screen, to make absolutely certain that individual musicians’ characteristics do not interfere with the dispassionate analysis of their musical abilities. But because this impartial process yields orchestras that are too white and Asian (and therefore has a “disparate impact” on blacks), there is buzz about taking the screens down for the precise purpose of allowing orchestras to discriminate on the basis of race.