Attacks on AA

[novapsyche]

I don't usually say things like this, but Bush can kiss my black ass.

As president, he has no right sticking his nose in this issue. It's the province of the Supreme Court. Now, I have no problem with him telling the Justice Department to be ready for a fight. He has every right to direct the JD. But his statement was, in my opinion, an abuse of his office. He used his position and the fact that he commands television and other media time in order to make his own personal opinions known. What do they call that, the bully pulpit?

Secondly, as an affluent white male, he really has no idea what it means to actually need affirmative action programs. I don't say this to be racist. I'm saying that he's ignoring the social complex, the matrix, of race and poverty. Those usually go hand in hand in this country, unfortunately, and education is the best way to lift people out of that poverty. Yes, I'm a liberal; yes, I believe that education is the best way to "level the playing field". As Kwame Kilpatrick said yesterday, in order to do that, there has to be some deliberate shifting of considerations.

I don't support "quota programs" myself. But quotas and point systems--if I'm understanding them correctly--are not the same thing. A quota is, "We need 100 blacks, 50 Hispanics, 20 Native Americans, and 10 international students." They are hard and fast requirements. I completely disagree with that. Under that system, yes, whites have a distinct disadvantage, because there are only so many available spots at a given college, and someone necessarily has to be displaced to keep such spots open. That kind of affirmative action is awful and should be resisted.

All college applications need to be screened with some sort of discrimination in mind. We just happen to have approved types of discrimination: grades, test scores, athletic ability, alumni affliations. None of these are specifically supported by the Constitution; we as a whole have simply consented to these criteria, because we see the benefit of judging by them.

To say that affirmative action is no longer needed in this country is to be blind to the naked facts that confront us every day. People who live in the suburbs or who have a substantial bank account can ignore the grit of reality that the majority of this country has to deal with. Bush is certainly in that group. And the fact that he trots out blacks such as Thomas and Rice, who are first and foremost Republicans, to agree with his position really infuriates me. "Here are my token minorities, reflecting my opinion! See, it must be right!"

Comments

[empiress.livejournal.com]

Just a question for clarification. I agree that we cannot ever fully "level the playing ground" because the factors that create such inequities are far too deep. But does that mean we ought not try? Does that mean AA should not be implemented in your opinion?

And if not, what do you suggest as an alternative?

Thanks,
~E

Re:

[gbdances.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying the playing field can never be leveled. What I'm saying is that we need, as a society, to stop trying to convince ourselves that the haves and the have-nots (for lack of better terms) are even playing the same sport. Further, if we as a nation are truly interested in education, then we need to insist that those who represent us have the guts to tell us "no taxes, no services". Finally, although it is obvious that the agenda of big business since the Vietnam war is the dumbing down of the American people (so that no generation of young people will ever have the intelligence or initiative to be so bold as to protest a war fought over commercial interests), if people are truly interested in education, it must be accomplished at an individual level - because NOTHING was ever created or resolved by committee. It is the imperative of the individual to encourage others to be educated, to assist where possible, and to provide an example, as Malcolm X suggested, not that tells others their glass of water is dirty, but simply stands quietly nearby and sips slowly on a clean glass of sparkling clear, cool water, and waits for them to want a glass of their own. Maybe that doesn't make sense to everyone. But every social revolution begins with the private revolution. You have to change yourself, first.