Is Affirmative Action Growing Obsolete?
In a recent Zogby interactive survey of adults nationwide, respondents were asked to choose a statement that comes closest to their personal beliefs on affirmative action. About 26% of the sample strongly or somewhat agrees that affirmative action levels the playing field, while 65% of the sample strongly or somewhat agrees that affirmative action rewards some groups at the expense of others.
According to an online article in the New York Times, “the selection of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court promises to open a new battle in the fight over affirmative action and other race-conscious remedies for patterns of inequality.” Some conservatives believe that her strong identification with race-based approaches to the law disqualifies her from the position.
What are your views on affirmative action? Do you think that affirmative action does more harm than good? Do you think it should face a time limit, given that much of its justification has concerned the righting of past wrongs? Do you believe that a racially mixed campus/workplace benefits society overall?
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persons who are in the workplace be they of whatever race or color should be hired because of there ability to do the work, not because of some government mandate.
I think affirmative action is insulting, basically the governments is saying that you are too dumb or inept to get a job or education by yourself, but don’t worry we will help you out.
America needs to become colorblind rather than reinforcing race boundaries with illogical regulations.
Any law or policy that takes race, ethnicity, or sex into consideration in an attempt to promote “equal opportunity” by definition prevents “equal opportunity” because those groups receive preferential consideration. The idea that every profession or educational institution MUST have proportional representation of the population as a whole is ludicrous.
For example, Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Gary Roughead announced in June that “diversity is the number one priority” at the Naval Academy. To that end, USNA has lower academic requirements for self-identified minority applicants than it does for majority, i.e. white, applicants. Call me crazy, but I think the number one priority of the USNA should be to produce the best naval officers it can, irrespective of race, and the academic requirements for admission should be the same for everyone.
AA has become silly because in most cases, “racial” is media speak for “African-American” which has become a self-defined classification. Half the people who claim to be a racial minority can’t be visually identified as such.
I was watching a National Geographic program the other night. And according to them, we’re all African Americans! Take me for instance;I’m a European/American (White), or so I thought. But I guess from now on, on all gov’mt forms, I’m gonna’ check the African/American box, especially for any “benefits”. If anyone questions it, I’ll just refer them to National Geographic.