Re: Oxford Music Professors: Sheet Music is White Supremacy

In article <v2b0i8$2u4t7$3@dont-email.me>,
 moviePig <nobody@nowhere.com> wrote:

On 5/18/2024 1:48 PM, BTR1701 wrote:

In article <v2akce$2roir$1@dont-email.me>,
  moviePig <nobody@nowhere.com> wrote:
 

On 5/18/2024 12:09 AM, BTR1701 wrote:

On May 17, 2024 at 6:43:52 PM PDT, "Rhino"
<no_offline_contact@example.com>
wrote:
>

On Fri, 17 May 2024 00:42:52 -0700
The Horny Goat <lcraver@home.ca> wrote:
>

   On Thu, 16 May 2024 13:09:59 -0700, BTR1701 <atropos@mac.com> wrote:
  
   >Yes, and because the current system isn't a dream for
   >sight-readers,
   >that means it's a racist form of white supremacy.
   >
   >(Because only white people can sight read perfectly or something.)
   >
   ><rolls eyes>
  
   I'm pretty sure there were and are a few black musicians who have
   managed the feat and somehow a lot of the concert pianists these
   days
   are of Asian origin...

>
I wouldn't expect that to continue if I were you.
>
As I understand it, Asian musicians expressed concerns that they
weren't getting performance gigs as white musicians and attributed this
to race. To address that, all or most auditions for orchestras started
being done behind screens so that the judges could only hear the
performance but not see the performer. But apparently Asians are now
seen as white or white allies and a certain group of people who I'll
call People of Darker Colour (PODC) are demanding that they simply be
given positions on orchestras without auditioning because they have
been discriminated against in the past. I assume they're proposing some
kind of quota system but I'm not sure what percentage of the slots
they're demanding.
>
Now, I don't know if this proposal is finding any support among the
people who decide these things but, given the way things are going in
general, I would be surprised if this was NOT done. Competence is going
out of the window to be replaced by hiring on the basis of skin colour.
>
I'm sure the usual suspects will be along momentarily to deny all of
this and/or defend it.

>
Yes, during the height of the Saint Floyd of Fentanyl riots, where
literally everything in America was discovered to be racist, there was
an article in the New York Times that asserted that the blind audition
system used by most professional orchestras and ensembles was racist
because it *prevents* racial bias in the hiring process.
>
The 'problem' is that when musicians play behind a screen and the judges
have no idea who the person is, what race they are, what gender they are,
etc., it takes away the judge's ability to racially discriminate. This
used to be considered a good thing, but in today's woke world, the
inability to racially discriminate (i.e., give preference to blacks over
whites) is a major problem that needs fixing. Blind auditions tend to
result in orchestras being problematically white and Asian. When pure
talent and ability are the only factors available upon which to base a
decision, the resulting orchestras aren't 'diverse' enough for the
intelligentsia.
>
So now, rather than blind auditions, the wokesters want to remove that
screen so the judges see the players, can actively discriminate against
whites and Asians, and make hiring decisions based on race and gender,
rather than ability to play the music.
>
Anyone who thinks a level playing field and the elimination of racial
discrimination is the goal of the modern 'progressive'... well, I have a
few bridges to sell them.
>
And with all the hand-wringing over how they needed to get rid of blind
auditions so that they can 'fix' the problem of too many white classical
musicians, there strangely was no plan to 'fix' the problem of too many
black basketball players (or any recognition that it even is a problem
in the first place). Wonder why that is?

>
In so many words, you're complaining about 'affirmative action' as
though it were a moral absurdity. Does that sum up your view?

 
I'm complaining about making an orchestra less than world class so that
you can pat yourself on the back for sticking it to whitey.
 
Yes. Giving someone a seat on stage for any other reason than that they
can do the job is morally abhorrent. I'm not surprised you cheerlead for
it.
 
Of course Asians are historically oppressed minorities, too, and they
somehow manage to not only make it into these ensembles on sheer talent
and merit alone, but dominate them. Weird how that's not seen as a
'diversity' success but a problem that needs 'fixing'.

 
But the issue in question is 'affirmative action', i.e.: procedural bias
meant to hasten the homogenization of an artificially bifurcate society.

But in the case of these orchestras, there's nothing artificial about
it. The auditions are blind and the chips fall where they may with
regard to race, gender, and all the other grievance groups.

A mostly white or Asian orchestra is no more of an artificial occurrence
than is a mostly black basketball team. In both cases, the best people
for the job are the ones who are hired.

Again, why is a mostly black basketball team perfectly fine, but a
mostly Asian orchestra 'problematic'?

Both are historically oppressed minorities and both organizations are
what they are because they hired the best people for the job. Why is one
a 'diversity success' and the other a problem that needs to be fixed?