Affirmative Action

So, let me start by stating what affirmative action is. Everybody knows, but if you already have your opinion on affirmative action, then you will make assumptions about the nature of it, and the entire basis for this article will be disputed and therefore, make any argument invalid.

"Affirmative action is the practice, usually by institutions, of giving preference to racial minorities or women when hiring employees, giving awards, or deciding whom to admit." (soyouwannaknow.com)

Pros

1. Diversity is desirable and won't always occur if left to chance.
2. Students starting at a disadvantage need a boost.
3. Affirmative action draws people to areas of study and work they may never consider otherwise.
4. Some stereotypes may never be broken without affirmative action.
5. Affirmative action is needed to compensate minorities for centuries of slavery or oppression.

Cons

1. Affirmative action leads to reverse discrimination.
2. Affirmative action lowers standards of accountability needed to push students or employees to perform better.
3. Students admitted on this basis are often ill-equipped to handle the schools to which they've been admitted.
4. It would help lead a truly color-blind society.
5. It is condescending to minorities to say they need affirmative action to succeed.
6. It demeans true minority achievement; i.e. success is labeled as result of affirmative action rather than hard work and ability.

(balancedpolitics.org)

I don't know if affirmative action is the best way to fix the economic discrepancies between whites and minorities. Maybe there is a better way to solve this problem. Having affirmative action is probably better than not having anything at all. After declaring Affirmative action unconstitutional in texas and california in 1998, the admission rates have dropped significantly. This is not to say that schools in texas and california don't have their own version of affirmative action. It is simply not government mandated. Perhaps a financially or districtally based system would work better, or maybe the government should require equal funding for every school, thereby solving the problem at its core: primary education.

The No Child Left Behind Act has created a greater discrepancy between school fundings and is detrimental to closing the economic barrier. It can be looked at as a motivation to get better test scores, but these schools are already at a disadvantage. It is unfair to them to begin with, and now the gap is opening up even more.

Affirmative affirmative action is anti-capitalist. Affirmative action is a socialist response to a system that was built on white-male supremacy. I think that affirmative action, although taking baby steps towards an equal-opportunity nation, isn't doing anything to overthrow stereotypes. The main reasoning behind this is that even when a black person is successful, affirmative action is seen as a cause. Affirmative action should be insulting to minorities, because it says "Well, since you can't do it on your own, we'll help you." Looking on other minorities, such as jews and asians, who have been institutionally and socially discriminated against, it is my belief that one can climb out of that hole that society has built around you. Affirmative action is not the answer to ending racism. It reinforces the notion that we are separate. It remains us vs. them. The answer is to even out the playing field, not at the final dash (higher education, job application, etc.,) but at the starting point. Elementary schools, middle schools, high schools, governor schools. Funding needs to be equal, thereby giving them equal opportunity.

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