Video: Guest Asks Tucker Carlson 'If White Privilege Explained Everything Please Tell Me How 7 Out of 8...Spelling Bee Champions Were Indian-Americans'
A guest on Tucker Carlson's show has argued that white privilege in the U.S. school system does not exist as nearly all the winners in the recent national spelling bee championships were Asian.
Heather Mac Donald, author of The Diversity Delusion, appeared on Carlson's Fox New show to discuss the controversy surrounding New York Schools Chancellor Richard Carranza's current push for more diversity across the whole school system.
Carranza is currently being sued by three Department of Education executives over allegations they were demoted from their jobs because they were white in favor of less qualified people of color, reported the New York Post.
In the past Carranza has also shown support to scrap a merit-based admissions test for some of the city's top schools in favor of admitting the top 7 percent of students from across New York instead, which he argued would give black and Latino students a better chance in enrolling in one of the specialized schools, reports Gothamist.
In the $90m lawsuit, Carranza is accused of attempting to purge the department of "toxic" whiteness in his push for greater diversity.
"I know we're not supposed to say this cause we're supposed to pretend this is totally fine, but why is this different from Jim Crow exactly?" Tucker asks Mac Donald.
"Because we're supposed to believe that whites are the source of all evil in society," Mac Donald replies.
"And the discrimination against whites is compatible with the Constitutional ban on all discrimination. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court has, basically, embraced that in allowing racial discrimination in college admissions in the name of diversity.
"What's going on that's slightly different in New York City right now, is the diversity rationale for racial discrimination—which now seems almost quaint in its white bred nature—is being replaced by something far more vicious and far more hating, which is the idea of toxic white culture," Mac Donald added.
"And this is a test. If Carranza and [New York Mayor Bill] de Blasio get away with this, it shows that the ideology of hatred and racial division that is now absolutely pervasive in our higher education system is entrenching itself throughout the rest of society. That will lead to, I fear, a state of very, very dangerous racial tension in our society."
Tucker then asks how parents can stand by and accept that their children are apparently being targeted in the New York school system because of the color of their skin.
"People are cowed by the charge of racism," Mac Donald said. The author goes on to argue that it would not make a difference to a black or Hispanic child's education if there was someone the same race as them working "deep in the bowels of the Department of Education."
"The public has to stand up and fight against this myth of bias and say that there are behavioral differences that explain outcomes," Mac Donald said.
"If white privilege explained everything, please tell me how seven out of the eight of the recent national spelling bee champions were Indian Americans.
"If skin color were the scourge of people of color, they would not be able to succeed. In fact, why do they succeed Tucker? Because they studied their butts off and that's what the inner city kids have to start doing."
In May, eight children made history after all of them were named joint winners at the Scripps National Spelling Bee after 17 rounds.
Seven of the winners, Rishik Gandhasri, Saketh Sundar, Shruthika Padhy, Sohum Sukhatankar, Abhijay Kodali, Christopher Serrao, Rohan Raja, were Indian American, with Erin Howard the eighth winner.
