Affirmative Action

"As far as Black history month and Women's history month,thats
something that came about to celebrate the pioneers that stepped
up at a time where they werent allowed to,people that risked their
lives so that you, me and her can have opportunities that werent
available to us back then because of our race or sex."

What you're failing to see is that black people are NOT the only
race to do anything productive or fight for freedoms or help give
us opportunities and such.

An opinion is just an opinion,but unfortunatly you still have
people that feel hiring a black,asian,hispanic,or any other race
thats not caucasian is out of the question AND thats were
affirmative action takes place,it tells this person NO you dont
have the right to turn down this applicant because of there race,
without affirmative action many people would be without jobs and
or education. As far as Black history month and Women's history
month,thats something that came about to celebrate the pioneers
that stepped up at a time where they werent allowed to,people that
risked their lives so that you, me and her can have opportunities
that werent available to us back then because of our race or sex.
The celebration of these months are meant to remind you and
motivate you that regardless of your sex or race you can achieve
anything you work for and still be able to obtain it. If we live
in a perfect world where racism no longer existed OR you dont hear
some dufus say oh a girl cant do that,then I WOULD 100% AGREE WITH
THIS ARTICLE. Its a great article but its just not realistic to
me.

Thank you! I'm sick of all this Black History Month crap, as well
as affirmative action. I have many black friends, and I forget
that they're black b/c they don't talk about it constantly. Being
black is part of who a person is, not all of it. Giving
preferential treatment based on skin color is just as bad as a
racial slur. I'm Jewish, and while its a huge part of who I am,
its not all I am. I don't constantly go around complaining about
all the hardships we have and still do face. Therefore, people see
me as a person and not a category. I'm all for being proud of your
race or heritage, however you can't parade it around and then
expect people to be color blind. Stop talking about it constantly
and people will see you as a person instead of the label you slap
on yourself.

I just want to add that I think a good journalist is one who is
not afraid of critique and who will stand up for something that
they believe in. I enjoy articles like these and hope that
Kiwibox features more. Fun topics are great too, but these issues
really get young people thinking and are critical if we're ever
going to lead the world.

Good for you for writing this. It had to be said.

"We have different months for different groups to acknowledge
them. We thank them for their contributions, learn more about
them, what is so bad about that? It doesn't seem to me that white
culture/history is lacking without a white history month. Its
America - the melting pot - why not celebrate and share our
differences? "

If it's a melting pot, there is no need for any specific month.

There's no Hispanic History month or a Native American History
month.

How is making a month devoted to one specific race/ethnic group
bringing us together?

"I think you don't accept that people aren't born equal on the
basis of race/sex and that's why we differ."

Affirmative Action is not helping us to stand united, though. It's
separating people into groups and keeping people from looking past
skin, gender, and religion.

I realize that some people and some places are still set in their
ways, ways that are unfair and unjust to anyone different from
them.

This doesn't go for just "rich whites". I've seen it happen with
black people, asians, hispanics, ect.

However, we're always going to have that in one way or another.
Someone is always going to pass down their dislike for anyone
different and while alot of the younger generation will turn and
say "that's wrong", some will hold true to that and continue the
tradition of being ignorant.

IMO, having scholarships made for certain ethnic groups is just
wrong. As a minority, I chose NOT to take one that was
specifically for me.

I wanted to be accepted based on my grades and my ability to work
hard, not based on the fact someone feels I was wronged.


"Do you think people that came from disadvantaged backgrounds
(like their family was poor or they came to the US when they were
10 and didn't speak any English or overcame a drug addiction or a
life threatening illness) should be given preferential treatment
when dealing with two equal candidates? "

No, I don't.

Having hardships doesn't make some a better candidate for a job or
anything else.

I mean, should those people put that on their application? "I had
hardships growing up therefore I deserve a better shot at getting
this job."

Preferential hiring isn't to make it so everyone who wasn't raised
with a squeaky clean childhood gets great jobs.

It was originally to ensure that people were not treated unfairly
based on the color of their skin.

As I said, that will ALWAYS be in one for or another, and if
someone does discriminate based on color/gender/religion, then by
all means, the victim should take them to court and do what they
have to do.

However, Affirmative Action shouldn't be making months devoted to
one specific race or religion. If they do, they need to do it for
EVERYONE who calls America home.

America is a melting pot and thus it should be treated as such.

Scholarships and history should be for and about everyone. Not as
specific groups to right wrongs that didn't involve the people at
hand.

Scholarships always group people: By grades, interests,
activities, athletic skills. I wouldn't expect Nike to give a
sports-related scholarships to me for studying political science -
am I being discriminated against?

We have different months for different groups to acknowledge them.
We thank them for their contributions, learn more about them,
what is so bad about that? It doesn't seem to me that white
culture/history is lacking without a white history month. Its
America - the melting pot - why not celebrate and share our
differences? Our different backgrounds? Our different cultures?
How is that dividing us? If anything by understanding other people
it is further uniting us - not causing us to hate each other.

I think you don't accept that people aren't born equal on the
basis of race/sex and that's why we differ. Do you think people
that came from disadvantaged backgrounds (like their family was
poor or they came to the US when they were 10 and didn't speak any
English or overcame a drug addiction or a life threatening
illness) should be given preferential treatment when dealing with
two equal candidates?

I know you're basing your opinion off of personal experiences but
I feel you have to look beyond them. You have to look at studies.
I can use my personal experiences and say why I think affirmative
action is still needed but that's useless. I'm one person; I've
only observed a small part of a bigger picture.

I know its your opinion. I know others - far brighter and better
educated than me - share the same opinion. I'm not criticizing
you for it - I'm just talking, sharing my opinion.

Affirmative action strengthens that divide.

Why not have a scholarship for everyone?

Why not have every month devoted to the history of those before
us? Why does it have to be one ethnic group at a time to further
push the limits?

There is always going to be racism and sterotyping of some kind,
but as I said in MY opinion, Affirmative Action strengthens that
divide.

Affirmative Action did wonders when this problem was more
abundant. People didn't want times to change and they surely
didn't want someone telling them they had to be equal to someone
else that they felt didnt belong.

It's been my personal experience that at this point, it's starting
to further divide us rather than bring us together.

Now it's starting to become an overwhelming need to one-up the
next person. It's becoming a need to scream it's name the second
someone feels something wasn't given to them.

Again, this is in my personal opinion and regardless of what you
may think, I do respect your opinion.

Maybe I'm jaded because I'm NOT white and I'm NOT black and I'm
NOT hispanic or asian.

I will not deny that some companies, cities, communties are quick
to put down a race, religion or gender.

However, I also cannot deny that the vast majority of
places/people have become more tolerable and now see past the
color/gender/religion.

Bravo, Steph :)

I completely agree with you and I'm glad you wrote this.

No - it *shouldn't* be divided that way, but it is. Affirmative
action isn't keeping us divided, economics and family history
still are. The social ladder isn't that easy to climb and
minorities are much more likely to be stuck on the bottom
generation after generation.


Yes - I failed to leave out - there is one top Latino CEO and 10
women in the top 500 companies. Do I need to go any futher that
the demographics of the top 2% aren't representative of the
population?

When the University of California system got rid of affirmative
action in the '90s - the two top campuses (Berkeley and UCLA) saw
the number of admitted black/latino students drop over 25%.

I said *more likely* as in *in general* I didn't say every single
member of every single minority group faces the same
discrimination. Heck, for college admissions affirmative action
hurts asian students.

Even having a minority sounding name makes you less likely to get
a job call back and less likely to be approved to rent an
apartment, house, etc.

How is that equal?

You, personally, may not discriminate against people based on
race, religion, gender, etc. - but that doesn't mean the rest of
people in the US, in particular people in a position of power, do
the same.

I mean I am all about equality but you can't tell me that a
minority does have to prove themselves 3 times as much as a white
person simply because they are anything but a white male. We
talked about some of this in my sociology of inequality class. The
reason why the U.S. is run by rich old white men is because they
never had to face racial/ethinc/gender discrimination to get where
they are.

"A minority person with the same skill-level as a white person
when being considered for a job has still accomplished more than
the white person."

It shouldn't be that way. It's THAT way of thinking that keeps us
divided.

Say what you want, but in this day an age, affirmative action is
doing nothing but strengthening that divide, in my opinion.

" For example - only 5 top 100 US companies are run by
African-Americans."

Affirmative action isn't JUST about African-Americans. Some people
tend to forget that.

It's unfair to say that it was because of the "white man" that
this is the way it is.

The US being run by "rich, white men" has nothing to do with
affirmative action or racism in any way shape or form. They didn't
knock down a minority and steal their money.

I've dealt with more than enough AA cases to fully understand how
ridiculous it is.

Nothing makes a black president or a woman president any less
qualified other than their skills or lack there of.

Like I said, Affirmative action or preferential hiring is doing
nothing but making us more divided.

We cannot get past this to move on to an equal oppertunity for all
unless people stop seeing colors/genders as groups, rather than
individuals.

I deal with hiring/firing all day long somedays, and I can tell
you that I don't hire anyone based on their skin color or gender.
I hire them based on their abilities.

I don't cater to the privledged, black, white, or purple.

I want what's best for MY company. Whether it be a white man,
black woman, hispanic transgender or a purple dinosaur. As long as
they are going to benefit the company in a professional and
quality manner.


"A minority child is *more likely* to face discrimination/racism
in school and their personal life that they need to overcome. "

Lawl.

Seriously.

As a minority, this makes me laugh. I went through very little
ridicule in my personal/education and professional life.

Alot of my friends are "minorities" of one kind or another. Only
ONE of them has a story to tell that would back up Affirmative
Action, and believe it or not, she's in her 40s.

The point of affirmative action is that people are not born equal.
A minority child is *more likely* to face discrimination/racism
in school and their personal life that they need to overcome. A
minority person with the same skill-level as a white person when
being considered for a job has still accomplished more than the
white person.

The US is still run by rich, white, men. For example - only 5 top
100 US companies are run by African-Americans. And look at the
debate over Barack Obama - is the US ready for a *black*
president? or a *woman* president?

I don't think its time to get rid of affirmative action yet.

Wow Steph!! That's amazing!!! Awesome awesome article....you
should write more!

Holy crap I didn't realize it was that long! Here I was thinking I
was gonna make it short, sweet and to the point, haha.

Thanks you guys :)


... and thanks Josh for making me do it ;)

yay steph! i agree 110%. =)