What do you think about affirmative action?

Question

I think it is not making the minorities equal with everyone else. It is giving them preferential treatment when the whole point of affirmative action is to get rid of preferential treatment and to make everyone equal. But how is everyone going to be equal if jobs are going to people because of their race even if they are less qualified than another person of a different race who is more qualified. I believe affirmtive action is basically fighting discrimination with discrimination. I have done a ton of research on this subject and am interested in your thoughts on this contraversial topic. You can answer for either side of the matter or you can be neutral. Racial insults are not necessary. Thanks for your participation. It will be interestig to see how this turns out.

Answer 1

I strongly beleive all actions should be affirmative, unless they are negative.

Answer 2

As a visible minority I think it is out dated.

We are well aware of the prejudices that exists in the US and worldwide and this is truly troublesome.

Until skin color is not an issue, I feel something however has to be done to level the playing field.

You have not walked a mile in a black man's shoes to know what discrimination he has faced in his lifetime.

Sometimes credentials are not enough and minorities have to prove themselves above and beyond the statistical majority.

Not sure what the solution is, but better education for all is a start.

In South Africa under the pass system blacks were not aloud to be paid more then the lowest paid white person regardless of their credentials.

How do we make that right without offering restitution.

The American population whether spoken or otherwise, has along way to come before minorities are treated based on merit alone.

Answer 3

I think affirmative action is not working because there are still problems in the USA as for as minorities are concerned. That is just throwing a bone at the problem. We need to get to the root of the problem and instead of affirmative action, lets get rid of the old school hateful attitudes. There is still bigotry out there are minorities still get discriminated against in very insidious ways, as well as women and whites. The problem is the old attitudes. My father, a black man, has a Master's degree in technology and it took him over a year to get a job in engineering. The old attitudes of discrimination still exist, they are just more insidious than ever. The key is to get rid of the old attitudes and start hiring people based on qualifications. One way to do this is to have the hiring manager not look at the person and view the resume and make the hiring decision before knowing what the person looks like. That would solve some of the problems.

Answer 4

You are absolutely correct. The purpose of affirmative action is to rid discrimination and provide equal opportunity. Unfortunately, there are bigots and racists out there. I prefer a person who is well qualified to get a position based on credentials and qualifications and not on race or sex. I do not oppose affirmative action, because if I am qualified for a job and a less qualified white man gets the job because of his innate factor, at least affirmative action prevents such discrimination from occurring. I like it as a preventative measure and not a deciding factor.

Answer 5

I must say that I am against affirmative action. I am an african-american but I do not want to attain a job based on my race. Hire me because I am the best not because you have to fill a quota. In this day in age everyone wants to sweep racism under the rug and act like it has gotten so much better. But if we still need affirmative action for a minority to attain employment, then have we really come that far? All in all, it should be based on who is the best person for the job and not making sure when you turn in your numbers that you have met your quota!

Answer 6

The government "affirmative action" programs are now antiquated and should be ceased. They are discriminatory, of course. Racial discrimination by our own US Government! Imagine that! (Let's combine this fact with the fact of how they "handled" my recent disability discrimination charge against a large corporate employer-basically they said they believed the corporation's story over my sworn statements-
and it clearly shows how truly discriminatory our own government is! They are biased, in favor of corporations.)
There is another group that discriminates racially as well, and that is the Native Americans...the indians. They are open about it. I am referring to their employment practices where they state and practice preferential treatment for native americans.
"Affirmative action" is unfairly discriminatory. Merit based promotion is much better for the society.

Answer 7

I think it made sense when it was first implemented now it seems outdated....
it helped some, however, at this point I think we should concentrate on fixing inequalities of socioeconomic status, not simply race...and we should be doing it with youth who are the most unfairly disadvantaged by class inequality....

I think head start was a good idea however it does not really address all the issues of class inequality for children and we should work on more programs to make sure there is equal education, food and health care as well as safe places for children (and everyone really) to live....

Answer 8

I do not like the idea of affirmative action, or any action in which a person is not allowed to make a decision for their own best interest. If an employer is really a racist, would you want to work for him?

Answer 9

affirmative action is legal discrimination. it's letting certain races get into jobs and schools with lower marks on their tests just because they have a certian skin

Answer 10

Affirmative action stinks, really stinks. Furthermore, anyone who supports it smells worse!