Affirmitive Action: Reverse Discrimination

bread holdr 1 Jennifer bread maker Reverse Discrimination Even though sla real has non been a theatrical role of America for over a vitamin C now, racial discrimination still exists in various parts of our culture. A polemic insurance baffle it offn as affirmatory natural process was introduced in the 1960s to find out and promote racial concernity in fiat. Affirmative motion is supposed to relieve bingleself minorities an cope with chance in conduct by requiring nonage employment, promotions, college pick outance, etc. At firstly this sounds give c atomic number 18 a amend solution to racial discrimination, unless in reality it is discrimination in reverse.The boundary approbatory bodily process was first utilise acantha in 1961 by president John F. Kennedy in an executive give designed to encourage racially blend work forces. He state that contractors should constitute positive deed to ensure that appli idlerts ar employed without regard to belt along, creed, colourize, or content origin. (Affirmative twistion) Then in 1964 the accomplished Rights Act was passed which prohibited employment discrimination found on quicken or sex. The Civil Rights activists continued to argue that minorities werent leaving to be able to compete with the more(prenominal) measure up applicants after having suffered discrimination for so long.So in 1969 President Nixon made it a federal policy that a accepted sh beage of minorities mustiness be engage in the employment. Quickly plausive baker 2 feat changed from be a policy that ensured compeer opportunity to beingness one that gave unfair advantages to minorities. Affirmative save has remained controversial throughout the years, finding itself in and out of the courts. One of the most famed cases was Fullilove vs. Klutznick, which took place in 1980. The ruling stated that setting aside 10 pct of the hiring for minorities was constitutional.luckily in 1996 proposition 2 09 was passed in atomic subject 20 which stop favourable action throughout the state. This was definitely a breakthrough, but the personal effects of favourable action still linger. umteen businesses and corporations still give preference to minorities rase if they be slight restricted. Employers fear that vitrines concede be filed stating that applicants were turned down be origin of their race. noned author and semipolitical activist Nathan glazier, has been against affirmative action since its beginning. Glazer believes that the olicy became controversial when it went beyond the opinions of the Civil Rights Act and started requiring employers to hire or promote a certain number of nonage applicants or employees. In companionship to make sure that affirmative action was taking place, federal courts started enforcing quotas or goals for detail numbers of minority hiring. If these were met, honorsuits base on racial discrimination would be less valid. Says Gla zer, Affirmative action has experience a matter of setting statistical goals or quotas by race for employment the expectations of color blindness that wasBaker 3 paramount in the 1960s has been replaced by a unyielding frame of numerical requirements. (Glazer, 6) Those who oppose quotas and goals atomic number 18 said to be opposers of the Civil Rights Act, raze though the affirmative action of straightaway is non what the Civil Rights Act embodied. Glazer compares the misinterpretation of the Civil Rights Act to the integrating of schools. In 1954, the Supreme Court govern that segregated schools were unconstitutional. The idea of racially corporate schools, like racially integrated workplaces, is an excellent one.However, the desegregation of schools has made busing a necessity. Busing, although not in use today, is when students are transferred to some other school for purposes of racial integration. It is costly to track all the buses and the commuting is hard on t he students. Those opposing busing are said to carry with the segregation of schools. (Glazer, 10) The desegregation of schools was besides mentioned in the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Initially this seemed a fair proposal, but full as affirmative action became detrimental in the workplaces, integrating minorities in schools turned into numerical requirements.Can you imagine busing programs being utilize across the United States today? The scary righteousness is that once one of these ideas is adopted in one urban center, any other city can then follow suit. For example, if Santa Cruz County were granted the right to require a 15 percent Hispanic student read fullment in all high schools at heart the county lines, any other city could too put this idea into practice establish on precedent. The assignment of students Baker 4 establish on race would cause an endless stream of angry parents. Fortunately busing is in the past, but affirmative action still has its claws in the sc hool organisation.A fewer weeks ago I was watching a 60 Minutes segment slightly a white girl who had filed a lawsuit against the University of Michigan claiming that they did not accept her because of her race. She had graduated from high school with a high grade point average and had put one overe everything in her power to bring to pass qualified for acceptance, save she was denied admission. Further research showed that the University of Michigan does in fact admit students based on race. When reading applications, they award points according to criteria. For example, if one writes a good essay he is awarded 1 point and if he is a minority he is awarded 20 points.Something is askew. Is being a minority is 20 measure more key than ones scholarly achievements? The Universitys argument is that students see better in a racially diverse environment. UC Davis is another example. In 1988 unaccompanied 40 percent of Davis freshman grad had been accepted solely on the terms of merit. While whites or Asian-Americans necessityed at to the lowest degree a 3. 7 GPA in high school to be accepted, most minority applicants were accepted level(p) though they met much lower standards. 66 percent of the whites graduated while only twenty-seven percent of corrosives did.Even as late as 1997 one was more possible to get accepted into UCLA if he were foreboding(a) or Hispanic than if he were white. The minority students had both lower GPAs and test scores. there were 5000 applicants for 200 sit down which meant that some qualified students were rejected to make way for less Baker 5 qualified minorities. (Chances of Admission) This does not sound like an equal society. In 1995 the University of California system voted to end all affirmative action in admissions. When the changes took effect in 1998, minority enrollment went down drastically.This seems prejudicial, but in reality it is fair and allows competition betwixt the best, regardless of race. Ever yone has an equal opportunity to achieve an education. Public schools are free and it is compulsory that children attend them. Any student can take full advantage of their first 12 years of education and make headway the GPA that leave gain them admission into a college. If a student is born(p)(p) into a poor family there are scholarships and student loans available. Malcom X is a complete(a) example of someone choosing to rise up and get an education.Early in his life he made very unwise choices and ended up a gratify. When he was caught and thrown and twisted in jail he pertinacious to begin educating himself. All he had was a dictionary but he used that dictionary and copied down every page. He went from being an illiterate street pimp to a very influential political leader. Affirmative action wasnt virtually in Malcoms eon, but today everybody knows about it or has at to the lowest degree heard the term used. The first judgment of conviction I heard about affirmativ e action was when my buddy first started running(a) at Ralphs supermarket.There was a black woman working(a) there who was very slow and unproductive. One day my associate asked a fellow employee why the skirt didnt lose her job and he said, Shes here for affirmative action reasons. It turned out that whenever the peeress was schedule for a shift, another Baker 6 worker was also scheduled just to make up for the inefficiency of the black lady. My brothers boss feared a lawsuit if he fired her. This is dizzy It is a costly arrangement and unfair to the lady chartered just to take up slack for someone elses laziness.The policy of affirmative action basically states that in order to defecate an integrated society with equal opportunities for all races, minorities must be presumption an advantage to make up for their disadvantages. This means that less qualified applicants are getting hired and that students who do not meet the requirements for college admission are being ac cepted while qualified students are being turned away, all based on race. The Constitution bans the exclusion of minorities from anything based on color, therefore it is unconstitutional to miss whites based on the same principles. The lesson of vast decisions of the Supreme Court and the lesson of contemporary muniment rescue been the same for at least a generation discrimination on the basis of race is illegal, immoral, unconstitutional, inherently wrong, and soul-destroying of democratic society. (Gross, 1) Affirmative action is intercommunicate us to overlook all that weve erudite and even fought for. Since affirmative action is much(prenominal) a hot topic and it affects our boorish as a whole, its important to know how the presidential candidates view this subject. viciousness President Al Gore tends to advance the policy while Governor George scrubbing disagrees with it.Gores idea is mend it, dont end it. (Al Gore) He says that affirmative action has done a mound for women and minorities over the years and that to get rid of it would be a waste. He has in time Baker 7 to provide a way to fix it. Bush argues against quotas and goals and proposes an election to this policy, one he has used in Texas. He terms his system of ideas and policies affirmative access. (George Bush) His idea leans more towards the real thinking of the Civil Rights Act and promoting equal opportunity. An example is that the top 10 percent of each high schools graduates be automatically accepted into the college of their choice.Supposedly the idea has been effective over the past distich of years in Texas. Both candidates have good points. Affirmative action has helped quail minorities and womens suffering prejudices in the workplace and in school, but on the other hand it has been taken to the extreme and the prejudices have been turned around. We essential to get back to the heart of what the original affirmative action intended. Racial prejudices need to be eli minated completely. We are all the same on the inside. There is no reason to consider outwards appearances.Employers and colleges only need to look at the applicants qualifications when determining who will be hired or accepted. Affirmative action could also use a face-lift, like the adduce change Bush suggested. When the term affirmative action is used, it is looked upon negatively and is associated with discrimination. A law that requires the acceptance of the most qualified would allow competition of the best and eliminate the issues of minority prejudices. If no regard is given to race, as Kennedy intended, then only the most qualified applicant will be accepted. This is fair. Baker 8Affirmative action has, in a way, become unfair to minorities. What is going to make them hand to be the best by working hard to get that promotion or studying hard to get those grades if they know they have an easy in? It has become an insult to minorities. Affirmative action is basically saying that they are not as smart or as qualified to be in good schools or in good jobs. It is saying that they need special help to get jobs and into colleges. It is a mockery. I know so many another(prenominal) smart minority people who will transfer into better colleges than I and Im as white as they comeI sat close to a girl this semester who was so quick-witted and had the most amazing style of writing. She was a mix of Indian and black. We must not insult these people by suggesting that we must compensate for their inferiority to make everyone equal in the eyes of the law. We were all created equal, and anyone, black, white, or any other race, can choose to set higher goals and achieve them just as Malcom X did. The old affirmative action is outdated. The premise that minorities should be given an advantage to make up for their disadvantages is ridiculous and irrelevant.Most of the minorities coming into the work force were born after the Civil Rights Act was passed in 1964 and therefore have not suffered disadvantages in school or the workplace. If anything, they have reaped the benefits of affirmative action. California and Texas, as well as a few other states, have begun to take major steps in eliminating affirmative action. It is a start but it needs to spread. We are all equal and absolutely no regard should be given to Baker 9 race in education or employment. It is time to end the old affirmative action. We need a policy that eliminates the issue of race completely.