Lowering the bar

Attorney General Eric Holder’s Department of Justice recently ordered the city of Dayton to lower the bar on exams for future police officers. It did so to try to increase the numbers of African-Americans on the force.
The exam in question was designed by an outside company. The company specializes in creating exams that are race neutral. If you scored 66% and 72% on the two parts, you passed. 
After the next batch of candidates took it, the DOJ stepped in. Not enough African-Americans had passed. So it ordered the passing grade be lowered to 58% and 63%.
Now, maybe particularly bright white guys took the exam. Maybe brighter African-Americans were not interested. We don’t know. We only know that the U.S. government has lowered the bar for the exam. In hopes this will bring more African-Americans onto the force.
 Police work is a lot more than cruising around in patrol cars. If an officer is incompetent, criminals can escape prosecution. Because the officer did not follow the proper procedures when arresting the criminals. People die because some police officers act stupidly in crises. People die when police officers forget life-saving training they have been given.
If this is the case, how can our government force a city to lower its standards for police officers?
It can because it has forced standards lower on various exams, for racial purposes. Many young people get into colleges only because the entrance standards were lowered for them. Because of their race. And because the government ordered it.
This raises a few questions. Would Attorney General Eric Holder mind if his child’s brain surgeon got into medical school with low test scores? Got in only because he or she was of a certain color?
Would Mr. Holder mind if the officers trying to rescue his children from a kidnapping were less skilled than other officers? Less skilled because they were allowed to join the force despite their low test scores. Allowed only because they were of a different skin color?
Would Mr. Holder mind if the nuclear power plant nearest his home was managed by technicians who failed their nuclear testing? Failed, but were given certification because of their color?
Would Mr. Holder mind if his wife’s medications were prepared by druggists who flunked their pharmacy exams? Flunked, but were certified anyway because of the color of their skin?
Would Mr. Holder be at all troubled if the pilot of his plane did not make the grade when he tested for various licenses? But was given his license anyway because his skin color matched that of Mr. Holder’s?
The president of Dayton’s NAACP said: “If you lower the score for any group of people, you’re not getting the best qualified people for the job. The NAACP does not support individuals failing a test and then having the opportunity to be gainfully employed.”
Mr. Holder probably had no trouble getting into law school. I wonder if he flunked the course What Is Justice 101?  Maybe he flunked it, but got a passing grade because of his color.
On the subject of passing, I wonder if the time is ripe for Mr. Holder to be passing along to other work. Anything outside of our Department of Justice.
From Tom ... as in Morgan.                  

For more columns and for Tom’s radio shows and new TV shows (and to write to Tom): tomasinmorgan.com.

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