this post was submitted on 30 Jun 2023
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I find this line of thinking to be flawed. If race can be excluded as a factor for consideration, how is the most qualified people getting ahead a bad thing? I couldn't get into Harvard even if I had good blackmail on the Dean. Maybe I don't understand the argument but that's my take.
The issue is that lots of minorities didn't have the opportunity due to years of systematic discrimination. Affirmative actions counter that. Yes, eventually they need to be removed but I don't think we are at that point in time.
For example, the effects of the crack epidemic in the 80s and 90s can still be felt today. Where disregard for how black communities are affected by this lead to a much worse situation for them than other communities. And calling it a "disregard" might even be a very lenient interpretation of what happened.
Minorities still have a harder time getting a job due to discrimination. So children growing up don't have the same opportunity. They grow up in worse school districts because they live in poorer neighborhoods. Then they fall behind academically way more often because of that. Moving to better school districts is also harder for them due to not having the same job opportunities.
And even if they land a good job the discrimination doesn't stop there. There is discrimination going on in real estate. Homes owned by minorities are often appraised lower. So wealth of minorities doesn't rise at the same rate. And even renting is more difficult, landlords are less likely to respond to inquiries from people with "foreign sounding names".
All of these things mean minorities don't have anywhere near the same opportunity getting prepared for a good college. Affirmative action will help breaking this cycle. I fully agree it's not a permanent solution but it's still necessary for now.
You don’t use racism to fix racism. Help lower income families get in? Sure. Not by race, though.
The people getting into Harvard, many of them get in because of social connection’s rather than merit. The social connections of their parents. It’s also super common to just buy their way in.
The students getting in on merit are the ones they let in because they have a reputation to maintain and can’t have everyone being dumb. That would look bad.
Further, even if that weren’t true, the reason “the most qualified” seem to be rich white kids from rich white families is simply because they can afford much better educations. So, if you want to promote diversity it can’t just be about academic qualifications because you have people who’ve always been in power buying academic quals for the kids- so they always will be in power.
Affirmative action isn’t about taking away from one group and giving it to another, it’s about giving back to a group that historically has been taken from- its about righting a past wrong- you can’t do that solely on merit, when the system was designed to perpetuate a certain kind of status quo
We don't need to right past wrongs. Just continue to be good people and give everyone and equal opportunity. That's what I do every day. Just be a good person to everyone you see, be willing to share knowledge to those who ask and elevate those around you. I don't specifically treat anyone differently than others based on "past wrongs".
Im sorry, but that's just a flawed way of thinking and perpetuates a divide.
No, as the comment you replied to says, people getting into schools through social connections and money while others don't get in because they didn't have the advantage of an expensive education is what perpetuates the divide.
You can individually be a good person to everyone you see equally but that doesn't fix anything about the systems that don't do good for everyone equally.
Wait why shouldn't we try to right past wrongs when those past wrongs continue to wrong people?
Those "past wrongs" are still impacting people alive today. When one racer has been given a two hundred year head start, it's easy to look at the race when everyone's running and think it is fair.
You could have straight A's too! (If you doubled the teacher's salary and contracted an assistant to do the home work and tests.)