I am not going to lie.
When I read the assignment my very first thought was “of course
affirmative action isn’t ethical – its reverse racism.” Man was I wrong. After reading chapters 5 and 6 I can say I am
rather ashamed of my short-sightedness when it came to the issue. LaFoullette does a great job breaking down my
thoughts against affirmative action (all of which he hit on in chapter 6) and
then did a great job building a case for it.
I’m only going to hit on the one key point that really sealed the deal
for me.
The thought that solidified my thoughts on affirmative
action are based on how much of an effect past transgressions can have on the
future. Why I never really thought about
affirmative action with respect to that fact is beyond me. After reading other books (Freakonomics comes
to mind where they discuss at length the fact that a person’s chances at
success in life are directly linked to the parent’s education levels), I’m surprised
that I never thought of this fact. Of
course discrimination 100 years ago has had an effect on people today. Holding people down 100 years ago resulted in
fewer opportunities 50 years ago, which has limited opportunities today. Limited educational opportunities of people
just 30 years ago has resulted in less opportunity for people entering the
workforce today. As a result, you must
take steps to level that playing field for them since the past has harmed
them. If it was a level playing field in
this country from the get go, the country/workforce might have a considerably
different look to it. For example, I
know that the military officer corps struggles to find minorities to fill the
ranks. In a perfect world, the all parts
of the military would represent the society we are protecting, however that is
not the case. I do not have exact
numbers for all of the branches, but I know the Army is severely lacking in
black officers, especially at higher ranks.
As a result, they have pushed to bring in young black officers into the
corps in order to fix the problem.
The other fact that always made me give some support to
affirmative action was the fact that its mere presence means that blatant
racism can’t exist. As much as I would
like to think it (racism) doesn’t exist with people who are in positions of
power, I know that there are people making decisions based purely on racist
ideals. These people must be held in
check at a minimum, and affirmative action ensures that. In the end, people that get upset about
affirmative action very well maybe closet racists or just naïve. Prior to the readings I would have thought
affirmative action is wrong, but I was quite naïve also…
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