Affirmative Action - what do you think

[WUOrevolt]

Recently there have been lawsuits against the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor for using race as a consideration in their college application program. I know that the american communist party supports affirmative action but I just wanted to know what you guys thought about it.
(by the way one of the arguements by the white applicants is that they were denied admission to the university because they are white but I know an out of state white girl who got in)

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

Affirmative action does not deny whites admission into college, it simply gives minorities an opportunity to apply to college free from decrimination. Affirmitive action (i think) promotes equality by forcing employers and colleges and etc. to admit or employ members of all ethnic groups, nationalities, gender, etc. according to how many members of the minority in question are present. It is not at all unjust to whites. There should be as many qualified minority members (in respect to their quantity) as there are whites. If not, that represents a failure on the part of society to establish equality. In the case of capitalism, the inequality is clear, some have money, most don't.

[Urban Rubble]

This is the thing with affirmative action, I understand that there are racial biases alot of the time when trying to get a job, but why should people be REQUIRED to hire (or accept) a certain amount of minorities ? It's bullshit, it's like reverse racism.

Fuck affirmative action.

[Xvall]

This is the thing with affirmative action, I understand that there are racial biases alot of the time when trying to get a job, but why should people be REQUIRED to hire (or accept) a certain amount of minorities? It's bullshit, it's like reverse racism.

I don't think that's how it works. It simply gives some kind of 'edge' to minorities because oftentimes they are raised in lower-class neighborhoods and do not have the currency needed for this. I'm not an affirmative action person myself, but I think you're over-exagerrating. It is not reverse racism. Reverse Racism would be discriminating against 'whites', forcing them to drink out of seperate, less sanitary fountains, forcing them into seperate dormatories, giving them low grades for the hell of it, etc. I don't think that is what is going on. I highly doubt that people are trying to opress the 'white' population, seeing as most of these collages are owned by 'white' people.

[Dr. Rosenpenis]

Quote: from Urban Rubble on 4:25 am on May 16, 2003
This is the thing with affirmative action, I understand that there are racial biases alot of the time when trying to get a job, but why should people be REQUIRED to hire (or accept) a certain amount of minorities ?

Say 10% of the applicants are black; 10% are Asian; 10% are Hispanic; 70% are white. Say the employer wants 10 employees, then he should hire 1 black person, 1 Asian person, 1 Hispanic person, and 7 white people. Otherwise, it is unfair. Some white people may be more qualified, some blacks may be more qualified, but there are racists in the world, and they must be prevented from acting upon their unjust atittude.

[Urban Rubble]

Forcing whites to drink out of different fountains would not be reverse racism, it would still be racism, just toward whites. What I meant is that trying to discourage racial profiling in hiring by FORCING people to hire minorities (even if they aren't qualified) is reverse racism. Maybe it isn't though, who cares ?

I just think it's stupid to make people hire a certain amount of minorities, that just teaches people to keep thinking that different races deserve different treatment.

[sypher]

I like the idea of affirmative action but, it has begun to deny white people who are more qualified than a minority the job. However, I don't know a better way to do it without having the government review each application (wait that may work...mmm....)

(Edited by sypher at 5:22 am on May 16, 2003)

[Umoja]

To prove what racist have done to the issue of Affirmative Action, and how it may have effected many peoples minds:
-What about all the white women, the prime beneficiaries of affirmative action, who benefit from affirmative action? How are they not mentioned in all of this?

Secondly Reverse Racism doesn't exist. For racism to exist you have to be in the posistion of power firstly. This implies that their is a level of racism that already exist for reverse racism to happen. Minorities in the US don't have that type of power over whites to put reverse racism into action.

[the SovieT]

as a JCP militant i have to make afirmative actions everytime possible...

it is one of the organisations laws...

"we proclaim ourselfs as Marxist-Leninists"...


this means i proclaim and show everybody my marxist view of everything...

thus i must have a positive image and action towards life and all...


its a pain in the ass sometimes when you are faced with a whole gang of anti-communists...

yet they wound touch me since i myself have my own "gangs"...

so far so good...
one person wants to join the organisation and some are suporting and helping me...


note that a affirmative action is to not only show everybody your ideals but also to call the atention of sympatizers... thus allowing more people to join and fight with you...

[dopediana]

Quote: from the SovieT on 11:56 pm on May 15, 2003
as a JCP militant i have to make afirmative actions everytime possible...

it is one of the organisations laws...

"we proclaim ourselfs as Marxist-Leninists"...


this means i proclaim and show everybody my marxist view of everything...

thus i must have a positive image and action towards life and all...


its a pain in the ass sometimes when you are faced with a whole gang of anti-communists...

yet they wound touch me since i myself have my own "gangs"...

so far so good...
one person wants to join the organisation and some are suporting and helping me...


note that a affirmative action is to not only show everybody your ideals but also to call the atention of sympatizers... thus allowing more people to join and fight with you...

wait.... are we talking about the same kind of affirmative action here?



this has been the popular topic of discussion between republicans and me the past few days because those in particular can't take me on anything else.

i believe the pure idea behind affirmative action is excellent. promote integration. eliminate biases based on gender and race.
however, it also takes everything a step back, forcing people to meet certain employee quotas.
i'm for affirmative action till people learn that there's more to life than white men in jobs.
hopefully, like socialism, the need for a law will disappear if affirmative action works. that was probably a lousy analogy but oh well.
i like the fact that i'd have a chance at a job. i don't like it that it would be on account of my vagina.

[Urban Rubble]

Umoja, the reverse racism thing wasn't meant to be taken so seriously, it was just something I typed real quick. I didn't mean for it to spark a debate whether there is a such thing as "reverse racism".

Secondly, I don't know where you get this idea that racists have altered my views on affirmative action but let me assure you that they haven't. I acknowledged that there is a problem with racism/sexism in the hiring process however I don't think giving people a quota of minorities or women they have to hire is the answer.

[Umoja]

I didn't mean to jump down your throat either Urban Rubble. I'm used to knocking heads with right wingers, so I usually have a level of ambient anger on the topic.

[Urban Rubble]

That's cool. It seems like alot of the people on here are like that, ready to jump down everyone's throat. I hate to sound like a hippy but I wish people would just chill out sometimes.

I don't agree with affirmative action, you do, who cares ? We're still fighting for the same cause, a world in which every man is truly created equal.

[HeftySmurf]

Affirmative Action is based on every employer being a racist, which is not true.
But, on the flip side those most qualified for the job are often going to be white, because they have more of a chance in education. Affirmative action gives the minorities a chance that they would have never usually had under the current circumstances.

It is hard to know where to stand..I want EVERYONE to have a completely fair go, but when people have grown up with unfair education options, (minorities) and with plain racists existing, it's hard to see them ever to get a job without a program such as Affirmative Action.

[sypher]

good point hefty. It is a hard place to stand. If the big funds wern't thrown around in white suberia but instead, handed to the urban schools the vicious poverty trap would lose some of its grip on minorities.

Education solves all problems doesn't it?