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Good Morning. Virus immunity is likely to last a long time. Biden is planning a “climate management”. And positive action highlights an ongoing problem.
Affirmative action is one of those divisive topics that polls can help both sides claim their position is the popular one.
Polls, generally asking about positive action programs for racial minorities, show that most Americans are for them. Polls specifically asking whether employers and universities should consider race when making decisions found that most Americans say no. These two patterns are contradicting one another.
However, the contradiction disappears if a positive action appears on the ballot paper. Since the 1990s, voters have consistently banned positive action. It happened in Arizona, California, Michigan, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Washington.
That year, progressive groups in California – America’s largest blue state, where only 37 percent of the population are non-Hispanic-white – thought they had a chance to reverse the trend. They supported an initiative that would have lifted the 1996 state ban. And it lost 57 to 43 percent in a landslide based on the last number of votes.
“All of California’s 14 majority Latin American counties have voted against,” said Michael Powell of the Times. Obviously, when most Americans are forced to vote, they think the politics are unfair and likely to be of no benefit to them.
The losing streak of affirmative action is part of a bigger problem for Democrats: America is more culturally conservative than the progressives would like. Many voters – across racial groups – are moderate to conservative about positive action, abortion, guns, immigration, and policing.
One option for Democrats is to keep doing what they did, political costs are damned. Some progressives argue that each of the issues I have just listed is a human rights issue and that compromise is immoral. Ultimately, it is said, the liberal position will become popular, as was the case with same-sex marriage.
The other possibility is to assume that not every major political struggle should lead to a left-wing solution – and to look for progressive and popular ideas. Such ideas certainly exist, including some that reduce racial inequalities.
Typically, these ideas are economically populist and racially neutral, while disproportionately helping Black and Latin American Americans, as Matthew Yglesias points out in his excellent new newsletter.
The Medicaid extension is an example. “Baby Bonds” – federal grants for children endorsed by Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey – are others. A higher minimum wage is a third, explained economists Ellora Derenoncourt and Claire Montialoux. Florida voted for a minimum wage of $ 15 as well as President Trump that year.
“This is the challenge for Liberal Democrats,” said Omar Wasow, a Princeton professor who studies race and politics. “In a diverse society, how can you pursue policies that can promote racial equality without exacerbating the racial divisions that are counterproductive and politically offensive?”
THE LATEST NEWS
The virus
One morning read: A Trump presidential reminder would most likely sell millions of copies. However, publishers fear that writers and staff will be outraged if they sign him, and that his book will test the limits of factual verification and accuracy.
From the opinion: In the “Covid-free world” of Nova Scotia, where tight barriers and border closings restricted the spread of the virus, life goes on as it did a year ago, writes Stephanie Nolen.
Lived life: Sheldon Solow, the son of a bricklayer, built a real estate empire in Manhattan from scratch and, together with developers like Harry Helmsley and Larry Silverstein, shaped the city’s skyline. He died at the age of 92.
The rise of a new genre of music: hyperpop
Hearing a hyperpop song for the first time can be a harrowing experience. It sounds a bit like a fun house mirror version of pop, full of energetic, glitchy vocals. The music mixes elements from dance, emo, punk and rap.
Last year, Spotify certified Hyperpop as an emerging music genre by creating a playlist of the same name. The music is often made by young, internet-savvy artists who grew up on platforms like SoundCloud and Discord and expose them to many types of independent music and a creative DIY spirit. The genre is also closely linked to the LGBTQ + community, and many of its top artists are queer or transgender.
Spotify created its playlist after discovering that an experimental, genre-defying debut album by a duo called 100 Gecs had attracted a loyal following online. Two other rising stars are both 15 years old: Osquinn and Glaive. (Lowercase letters seem to be common in the genre.)
“Hyperpop is a parody of pop,” playlist editor-in-chief Lizzy Szabo told Vice. “It’s almost fun and pushes the boundaries of such a quirky, traditional radio pop star sound.” Ben Dandridge-Lemco in The Times tells the fuller story of Hyperpop.
PLAY, WATCH, EAT
What to cook
The pangram from yesterday’s Spelling Bee was an avalanche. Today’s puzzle is up – or you can play online if you have a game subscription.
Here’s today’s mini crossword and a clue: Giant Grain Containers (four letters).
Thank you for spending part of your morning with The Times. Until tomorrow. – David
PS From The Onion: “The governors urge Gretchen Whitmer to close their states so the residents don’t get mad at them.”
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