What is affirmative action?

Question

Before anyone starts saying negative things, I NEVER learned it at high school for some very odd reason until I just got into college. I am very serious. I didn't dooze off or anything, I never recall learning anything about it. I know that it supposedly support minorities and such, but in what way? Also what is exactly that makes it good AND bad?

Answer 1

Basically, affirmative action is anything that's done to correct the effects of discrimination and prejudice, racial or otherwise. This isn't simply opening doors to minorities *now,* but targeting specific groups for more benefits to overcome past discrimination; a form of "reverse racism," if you will. In American history, this is most predominately seen the reform of hiring/promoting practices and establishment of equal opportunity during the 60's and 70's. Affirmative action usually involves education or employment issues, and the most common examples are revising college admission standards to include quotas of racial minorities, and certain recruiting ploys to attract more women or racial minorities into the workplace.

One important turning point in the affirmative action march was the Bakke case in 1978, in which a white male had been denied admission to medical school several times while less competent, minority applicants had been admitted, simply so that the college could maintain its quota of racial minority students. This case acted as a sort of cap for the affirmative action movement, setting a vague boundary for how far affirmative action should be able to benefit a minority group.

If you want to learn more, this is a really accurate and informative article from the Washington Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/affirm/affirm.htm or you can check out a high school-level American History textbook from the library.

Answer 2

"military command"? lol

just action to make things "fair" so black people wont complain as to why majorities get the jobs that blacks are applying for.

and know people are reverse-ing affirmative action because whites are complaining that "minorites" (which are now infact the majority) are getting more attention than them.

so in this country everyones ALWAYS have to complain about something. for everylittle thing someone always has to oppose. no one is ever satisfied

and you all know deep down that it's true, so dont come with some crap trying to get back at me like a bunch of idiots.

Answer 3

Positive steps to enhance the diversity of some group, often to remedy the cumulative effect of subtle as well as gross expressions of prejudice. When numerical goals are set, they are set according to the group's representation in the applicant pool rather than the group's representation in the general population.

Answer 4

military comand