Proposition 209’s Political Fallout

Marian Bergeson, the sole female member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, has dealt a body blow to her sisters by her endorsement of Proposition 209. I have followed her progress from school board to state Assembly, state Senate and now county supervisor.

She was a great role model. She did her homework and deflected some of the more bizarre legislative proposals. Unfortunately, for her own personal political gain, she has now helped close the door for girls to follow in her footsteps. Not everyone has the financial resources she has had to help her break down the old-boy network.

Gov. Pete Wilson has already dismantled many state affirmative action programs. The University of California will no longer consider gender in its admissions policies. Proposition 209 will further disadvantage women by wiping out affirmative action programs in state hiring, education and state contracting.

Women, forget Marian Bergeson, our failed leader. Insure opportunities for your daughters and granddaughters. Vote No on Proposition 209

LYLE JOHNSON

Newport Beach

* Hypocrisy is no stranger to many politicians, but County Supervisor Marian Bergeson’s actions were particularly repulsive when she endorsed Proposition 209. Less than four months ago, she and two other prominent GOP women issued a plea for affirmative action to elect more GOP women to public office because they are underrepresented in public office.

As a GOP female politician, she solicits affirmative action for GOP female politicians. However, she objects to affirmative action that will help other women and minorities secure equal opportunity.

DON PAYNE

Anaheim

* Opponents of Proposition 209 would have you believe that it is an anti-affirmative action measure. The term “affirmative action” is not even mentioned in the proposition. When that term first gained national currency in the early 1960s, it conveyed no ambiguity. It meant that everyone should act positively to uphold the principles of the 1964 Civil Rights Law to abolish all race- and gender-based discrimination.

Proposition 209 is actually nothing more than a reaffirmation of “affirmative action” in its original sense. The term has been so corrupted of late that it now usually conveys an opposite, malignant meaning, to actively discriminate in favor of specific ethnicities and gender to promote “diversity,” that code word for “desirable discrimination.”

This is a shortsighted, destructive, political agenda. For those of us who agreed with the original, salubrious intent of affirmative action, it is important to understand that Proposition 209 will not affect affirmative action in the private sector. Those with skills tuned to the workplace, irrespective of skin color or sex, will find jobs, and a future. That is as it should be.

Certain women’s groups and opponents like Nancy Fitch in “Orange County Voices” on Sept. 15 misrepresent Proposition 209 as an instrument to promote sex discrimination. This is nonsense. If anything, it enhances opportunities for women.

Our national and state governments must never again permit discrimination by race, ethnicity or gender; they must protect the right of equal opportunity for all. Our governments of late have failed us in this fundamental responsibility by permitting special privileges to be granted to some groups at the expense of others. The legacy of this is found in the intensifying balkanization of our country in the name of “diversity” and expansion of the social pathology called multiculturalism.

The California Civil Rights Initiative will go a long way toward reestablishing a colorblind society and a more level playing field, with goal posts available to all.

JOHN E. SWETT

Professor Emeritus

UC Irvine

* Professor Nancy Fitch states that Proposition 209 is a “crusade against equal opportunity.” This is truly Orwellian language that must be responded to over and over again.

Backers of the California Civil Rights Initiative support the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. That is the dream of a colorblind society. We need to stop all this race talk. It divides this country. Most Americans are not racists. This is the 1990s, not the 1950s. Proposition 209 deserves to be supported. Let’s judge people on their qualifications and how they act. Let’s not judge them because of their skin color.

MARK COHEN

Fountain Valley