36th District Court judge, to oversee arndisciplinary hearing.rnBased on the alleged racist remarks,rnFerrara was charged with judicial misconduct.rnHearings began in September.rnOne of her 14-year-old sons testified thatrnFerrara had said “nigger” on several occasions.rnHe also claimed that she hadrnasked him if there was a way to destroyrnthe infamous tapes. Ferrara denied herrnson’s accusations, claiming Tarjeft hadrncoached him to make her look bad, anrnallegation that Tarjeft denies. Understandably,rnFerrara became emotionalrnand accused the judge of “ruining myrnfamily” and “allowing my children to bernused as pawns in an extortion scheme.”rnIn a damaging blow to Ferrara, AvelarnSmith, an unemployed black woman,rnadmitted that a letter praising Ferrararnthat she had sent to tlie Michigan Chroniclern(a black newspaper) had been writtenrnby Ferrara for Smith’s signature. AllanrnSobel, the general counsel forrnMichigan’s Judicial Tenure Commission,rnadded a new misconduct charge:rnfabricating evidence. Other minorities,rnhowever, testified that they do not believernthat Ferrara is a racist. As we go tornpress. Judge Svenson is preparing her reportrnto the Judicial Tenure Commission,rnwhich will decide whether Ferrararnshould be reprimanded or removed fromrnher job.rnSo we have a public servant under investigation,rnwho has left a job she mayrnvery well lose, over alleged racial slurs inrna private conversation with her ex-husbandrnwho has strong reasons for wantingrnto ruin her. True, nobody wants a biasedrnjudge—bvit a few words spoken in angerrnor frustration do not a racist make. Onernwould think that a charge of judicial misconductrnregarding race would concernrnwhether or not Ferrara was unfair tornblacks and other minorities in courtnotrnwords supposedly spoken amongrnfamily. The whole thing smells fishy.rnA naif (that is, your average American)rnmight say that the sensitivity crusade isrnmuch ado about nothing, and that thisrntoo shall pass when Americans’ nativerngood sense reasserts itself But as AynrnRand’s villain Ellsworth Toohey observed,rn”there’s always a purpose in nonsense.rnDon’t bother to examine a follyaskrnyourself only what it accomplishes.”rnWhat the sensitivity folly is accomplishingrnis the sort of leverage over peoplerncommonly seen in a reign of terror.rnNotice how much damage can be inflictedrnover accusations of racism and insensitivity,rnhow quickly mere hearsay isrnseized on as proof positive, how quicklyrndemonstrators and other such busybodiesrnswing into action, how little recoursernthe accused have other than frightenedrndenials and groveling for mercy. Butrnperhaps the most dishirbing thing is howrnlittle resistance there is to this reign ofrnnonsense. If enough prospective victimsrndefied it, the whole grotesque “sensitivity”rnjig would be up. But, confrontedrnwith demands that they slap their ownrnfaces with written apologies, Americansrnusually respond with slavish compliance.rnTypically, the accused parties strive tornappease their persecutors; to either denyrnsaying the offending things or to assurernthe public that they did not mean anythingrnracist, sexist, or homophobic; tornapologize, abjectiy, extravagantly, endlessly;rnto confess that yes, they may havernbeen insensitive; to scramble to makernamends. (Consider, here, the cases ofrnDenny’s and Texaco.)rnRand said that “no injustice or exploitationrncan succeed for long withoutrnthe sanction of the victim.” It looks likernthese crusaders have Americans pegged:rnwe really are insensitive — to threatsrnto our liberty and affronts to our selfrespect.rnIn The Gulag Archipelago, AleksandrrnSolzhenitsyn wrote perceptively of howrnthe Moscow show trial defendants werernweaklings, wanting above all to livernpleasantly, and who therefore wererncowed before Stalin’s first blow wasrnstruck. A modern American’s highestrnpriority is an affluent, entertainment-richrnlifestyle and social acceptance. To preservernhis pleasant existence, he will hadernaway virtually everything else. Like tiiernhapless Russians, “insensitive” whiternAmericans uncannily resemble rabbitsrntrembling with terror, not questioningrnthe hawk’s right to prey on them butrnmerely hoping that the predator will passrnthem by this time. It is a formula for servility.rnJohn Attarian is a freelance writer in AnnrnArbor, Michigan.rnWouldn’t you like to knowrnwhat Chronicles editorsrndo when they’re notrnwriting for Chroniclesl For a taxdeductiblernmembership donation ofrn$25, you will receive the Institute’srnquarterly publication. Main StreetrnMemorandum, your source for all thernhard-hitting commentary and RockfordrnInstitute news that can’t fit in thernpages of Chronicles. To join, send arncheck for $25 to:rnTRI Membershiprn928 North Main StreetrnRockford, IL 61103rn-; MAIN STREETrnMEMORANDUMrnFree Rockford!rn()rnFEBRUARY 1998/37rnrnrn