Looks like it's pretty definitive that most of you guys don't think affirmative action works or at the least, it shows unfair favoritism. There's a very basic logic that using race as a basis for any sort of benefit can be construed as racist. I think most people acknowledge that. But it's like while most people agree killing is wrong, many can justify war. Now that I've equated supporters of affirmative action with people who like war, I'll just shut up and sit in the corner.
Friday, November 4, 2011
Affirmative Action Poll Results
Looks like it's pretty definitive that most of you guys don't think affirmative action works or at the least, it shows unfair favoritism. There's a very basic logic that using race as a basis for any sort of benefit can be construed as racist. I think most people acknowledge that. But it's like while most people agree killing is wrong, many can justify war. Now that I've equated supporters of affirmative action with people who like war, I'll just shut up and sit in the corner.
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In the case of affirmative action, it was assumed that this was/is a biased action and, since it is determined by race, inherently racist. The rationalization is that such bias is sufficiently important to justify it as a *temporary* solution to an otherwise intransigently unequal playing field.
ReplyDeleteI think that asking, "Does it really work?" may be the wrong question, if you interpret that to mean, "Does it help everyone of the target group in rapid and noticeable fashion". Perhaps it might be better understood to mean, does it begin to correct (albeit gradually) a social/economic injustice that might otherwise linger for many more generations if not specifically addressed?
Affirmative Action does not work if it is the only tool for creating a level playing field. Right now the greater discrepancy on the playing field is the 99% versus the 1%. Having a job at all is a luxury. There is a lot to fix and getting real fairness in place has been set back by the greed of a few.
ReplyDelete"Hi, this is TR. I'm a "Caucasian" and, by my mom's dna test, about 1/25 American-Indian + small amounts of many other races or ethnicities.
ReplyDeleteI guess, the whole thing/most of it, has to be a gentle balancing act of helping people in the USA, who aren't favored by most/waspy people.
For a theoretic example, let me equate non-white people to a guy who has lost2 fingers. Again, this is a theory.
If I know an 8-fingered guy, + I know that most people are biased against/uncomfortable with people who have less than 10 fingers, then I'll try to find ways of helping him, like supporting a political movement that will make him as popular + popular to hire, as the 10 fingered people.
However, in helping my 8-fingered friend, If I make him look so good, that the majority favors him, more than the majority, then I'm probably helping him too much, I guess. It's like the saying: "It's unhealthy to feed your dog too little food.It's also unhealthy to overfeed your dog".
I guess, If I want to help non-white people, using programs like affirmative action, I have to study society to: find out what are the ways to boost all non-white people to equal societal standing + equal job-opportunity standing, but I have to boost people, whithout making the boosted people look better than [everyone else] in the USA."
In other words, to realistically help the non-majority groups in the USA, you have to learn about these groups + their struggles, and you have to keep learning about these non-white/non-WASP-y groups, every day/as close to every day, as possible.
That's my understanding on the [how to give everyone an equal chance at jobs + try to help everyone get equal standing in society] issue.
It's a complicated issue. It also takes study + effort to effectively help + understand that issue.