Ladies and gentlemen, Madison's nonprofit agencies have a severe problem: too many white people work for them:

When Barbara Golden looks around at the nonprofit agencies that assist Madison area people in need, she doesn't like what she sees.

So few of their workers are people of color; so many of those they work with are.

And so Ms. Golden, along with fellow misguided crusaders, has "begun confronting some local nonprofit organizations on the dearth of people of color on their staff rosters."

Lovely. Imagine yourself as a young social work graduate. You've earned a Master's Degree and you go out into the workforce determined to make the world a better place. You accept a low-paying job at a nonprofit agency because you truly believe in the work they do. You work your ass off and can still barely afford to pay off your student loans. Then, some jackass like Ms. Golden comes along and questions your employment simply because of the color of your skin. It's enough to make you want an MBA.

Where is it written that only "people of color" can adequately serve minorities? And shouldn't someone evaluating the racial makeup of Madison's nonprofits want to keep in mind that the vast majority of people who live here are white. Wisconsin is full of white people. Lily white whiteys. Are white people so horrible and lacking in empathy that we can't even help other people? God, we're awful.

I'm shocked and amazed how many people think that. All of these Madison organizations are absolutely dedicated to hiring minorities just for the sake of hiring minorities. And, because the push is so strong, they're making dumb decisions like this:

Wexford Ridge Neighborhood Center on Madison's west side works to develop staff from the community it serves - primarily low-income people of color, said executive director Paul Terranova. Of the nine staff members, seven are people of color, he said.

Finding staff among the ranks of the served may mean reconsidering what's of value to the organization.

"If people are too in awe of a college degree, they will tend to overlook very valuable skills," Terranova said. "My own graduate studies may have helped me be a better grant writer, but did very little to help me as a community worker."

So let me get this straight. The Wexford Neighborhood Center, which I know for a fact does a ton of work with kids, wants to help lower-income folks get a leg up. To do so, they're showing these kids that an education isn't that important and that what's really important is to be able to use your minority status to get jobs you otherwise wouldn't be qualified for. And that's exactly what it is. Don't tell me for one second that a white person would be hired for this job because of their other "very valuable skills".

Argh. I'm sick to death of this attitude that demographic similarity equals some kind of mystic understanding. At least I'm used to that attitude. I can't imagine what these young, liberal, white nonprofit workers feel like. My guess is that they're starting to not feel so liberal anymore. Score another one for the Evil Right Wing Conspiracy.