![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Nuclear-Grade Snark
Aug. 31st, 2009 02:27 pmI don't get terribly worked up over people getting positions or advancement because of family connections, such as Jenna Bush getting a gig on the Today show. It happens, and has happened since the begining of time. However, Glenn Greenwald, a true liberal, delivered some nuclear-grade snark on the subject. It's worth reading the whole thing, but in my view here's the money quote.
Talking about a lengthy list of TV personalities hired due to their last name, Glenn says, "all of the above-listed people are examples of America's Great Meritocracy, having achieved what they have solely on the basis of their talent, skill and hard work -- The American Way. By contrast, Sonia Sotomayor -- who grew up in a Puerto Rican family in Bronx housing projects; whose father had a third-grade education, did not speak English and died when she was 9; whose mother worked as a telephone operator and a nurse; and who then became valedictorian of her high school, summa cum laude at Princeton, a graduate of Yale Law School, and ultimately a Supreme Court Justice -- is someone who had a whole litany of unfair advantages handed to her and is the poster child for un-American, merit-less advancement."
Talking about a lengthy list of TV personalities hired due to their last name, Glenn says, "all of the above-listed people are examples of America's Great Meritocracy, having achieved what they have solely on the basis of their talent, skill and hard work -- The American Way. By contrast, Sonia Sotomayor -- who grew up in a Puerto Rican family in Bronx housing projects; whose father had a third-grade education, did not speak English and died when she was 9; whose mother worked as a telephone operator and a nurse; and who then became valedictorian of her high school, summa cum laude at Princeton, a graduate of Yale Law School, and ultimately a Supreme Court Justice -- is someone who had a whole litany of unfair advantages handed to her and is the poster child for un-American, merit-less advancement."
