TheDingo,
I don't disagree with most of your thoughts, but a question to you. Where do you think your family would be today if your parents were African American growing up in the South?
AA isn't about creating equality; it's about making sure everybody who wants to succeed is afforded a roughly equal opportunity to do so. Obviously, this being America, many people will still be left behind, regardless of how well AA works in any given situation.
Furthermore, you've created a completely simplistic example. We aren't talking about secretaries applying at the KKK. We're talking about the average U.S. corporation where there is often a wide variety of rank employees, but much less so in the executive positions.
gopunk,
No offense to you, but you're apparently one of the Asian Americans who doesn't seem to care enough that your family's situation today was greatly influenced by the Civil Rights Movement.
I more or less agree with you that admission and hiring should be based on merit. However, that cuts both ways. We don't live in a perfect world, and you can't just take an ideal golden rule as practical policy. If it weren't for AA, then discrimination and racism would still be a core component of hiring decisions. How is that fair in the idealistic sense that you advocate?
And if it is unfair, will such practices end if we all just persevere and ignore the inequities?
I think what you're implying is that American universities/corporations today are "good enough". I say it isn't, and even if it were, that still ignores how we got to where we are today. If you believe AA is unnecessary today, that's fine. But Asians wouldn't have achieved all the university degrees they have earned in the past 30 years without it being there in years (long) past.
As an example of AA, John Nason was a Swarthmore College president who essentially "smuggled" Japanese Americans from WWII internment camps into liberal arts colleges that would take them. It's work like that that exemplifies the spirit of leveling the playing field.
I don't disagree with most of your thoughts, but a question to you. Where do you think your family would be today if your parents were African American growing up in the South?
AA isn't about creating equality; it's about making sure everybody who wants to succeed is afforded a roughly equal opportunity to do so. Obviously, this being America, many people will still be left behind, regardless of how well AA works in any given situation.
Furthermore, you've created a completely simplistic example. We aren't talking about secretaries applying at the KKK. We're talking about the average U.S. corporation where there is often a wide variety of rank employees, but much less so in the executive positions.
gopunk,
No offense to you, but you're apparently one of the Asian Americans who doesn't seem to care enough that your family's situation today was greatly influenced by the Civil Rights Movement.
I more or less agree with you that admission and hiring should be based on merit. However, that cuts both ways. We don't live in a perfect world, and you can't just take an ideal golden rule as practical policy. If it weren't for AA, then discrimination and racism would still be a core component of hiring decisions. How is that fair in the idealistic sense that you advocate?
And if it is unfair, will such practices end if we all just persevere and ignore the inequities?
I think what you're implying is that American universities/corporations today are "good enough". I say it isn't, and even if it were, that still ignores how we got to where we are today. If you believe AA is unnecessary today, that's fine. But Asians wouldn't have achieved all the university degrees they have earned in the past 30 years without it being there in years (long) past.
As an example of AA, John Nason was a Swarthmore College president who essentially "smuggled" Japanese Americans from WWII internment camps into liberal arts colleges that would take them. It's work like that that exemplifies the spirit of leveling the playing field.