An Analogy

[keilexandra]

If affirmative action is a band-aid over a bleeding wound, then the collateral casualties (whites and often Asians) must be the nerve cells of the healthy skin around the wound. Is it important to staunch the bleeding before healing can begin? YES.

But I refuse to believe that the bleeding requires a band-aid to be continually ripped off and replaced, when a piece of gauze and an Ace bandage would suffice.

Comments

[keilexandra]

The original site was obviously biased in that it made no attempt to admit the merit of opposing arguments or acknowledge the shortcomings of affirmative action (even if only to counter them). Any such one-sided source is suspicious in my eyes.

My problem with affirmative action is not that it aids unqualified people--I very much doubt that--but that it aids less qualified people. If a woman would not have been hired over a man in a gender-blind reading--that is, assuming that both candidates were male--then the woman is relatively less qualified. I recently read a book, although dated, on admissions decisions at Stanford 10 years ago; that discussion will, I hope, be fruitful.

[unusualmusic.livejournal.com]

soooo am I reading you right? you are saying that the people hired by affirmative action are by and large less qualified than white men?

[keilexandra]

Nope. SOME people hired by affirmative action are less qualified than their counterparts (white men, to simplify things). Is this a majority? Well, I hope not, but I don't really care. I consider things on the individual level--so even if the majority of the people hired are MORE qualified, it is still an unfair distinction to make because not ALL women/minorities/etc. had access to less opportunities than ALL white men.

[unusualmusic.livejournal.com]

not ALL women/minorities/etc. had access to less opportunities than ALL white men.

nope. just the majority of them.

[unusualmusic.livejournal.com]

10 myths about affirmative action (http://www.aapf.org/focus/)