Why is affirmative action bad? Because it degrades the achievements of those individuals - black, brown, yellow, female - who stood on their own two feet to accomplish what they've accomplished, and lowers their standing because everyone (even other affirmative action benefitters) will wonder - did they really deserve this degree they've gotten? Or is it just a sham because of their minority status? Can I trust my life - my teeth or my health, whatever - with someone who was pushed through because the school had to push them through?)
I would think that those individuals who got where they were on their own merits would be very upset with Affirmative Action, in the same way that our Latino/Hispanic citizens and legal immigrants should be upset with those illegal ones who debase their standing in the community.
For example, there have been several cases within the last few years where African Americans (and Latinos) have taken tests for jobs, and a majority have failed those tests, whereas white applicants have taken tests for jobs, and a majority pass them.
The tests are on fundamental things like reading, writing, and math. (And doubtless, comprehension and ability to learn. I'm sure you remember your own tests when you've applied for jobs).
And typically, blacks and Latinos have failed math. Not algebra - general math such as you'd need to fill out a time card, or to figure out how fast someone was speeding, etc.
Did it occur to those applicants who failed to take remedial math classes and then take the tests again? No, of course not! They didn't have to take that common sense solution, and actually do a bit of work to earn the job they were applying for! They contacted the ACLU who sued the entitity involved (i.e., the Virginia Beach Police Department a few years ago in one instance, the Dayton Police department more recently for another (http://abc.daytonsnewssource.com/shared/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wkef_vid_6103.shtml) and said, "So many blacks failed these tests that obviously it's racist. Blacks don't have a cultural desire to learn math.) And rather than fight and waste millions of dollars, the states, or entities, cave, and hire them. (And then, hopefully, give them the remedial education they need so they can do their jobs in a halfway competent manner.)
College is hard. It's even harder for those individuals who don't have the education to be going there to begin with (although that bar has been lowering on a yearly basis, for everbody , for many years).
The point is, you've got kids coming into college who will not be able to do the work. If their test scores weren't high enough to get into a certain college - how is it possible that they'll be able to do the work? (Or will test scores needed for blacks to pass be lowered throughout their entire college career?) They are being set up to fail by affirmative action, and by the knowledge that if they do fail, the ACLU will come running to make things all right again.
What is this telling blacks and Latinos, or any minority (i.e., women)? That doing the best you can, getting a good education...that's not needed. Simply because you're a minority, you deserve to have a job, regardless of whether you can do it or not.
Court strikes Michigan affirmative action ban
A federal appeals court on Friday struck down a Michigan law that banned affirmative action in college admissions, creating the possibility of a U.S. Supreme Court battle.
The 6th U.S. Circuit of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, found that a 2006 amendment to the Michigan constitution, "unconstitutionally alters Michigan's political structure by impermissibly burdening racial minorities."
Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette said he will appeal the ruling through a formal request for a rehearing by the entire 6th Circuit. The law, known as the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, will stay in effect pending a final decision.
"Entrance to our great universities must be based upon merit, and I will continue the fight for equality, fairness and rule of law," said Schuette in a statement.
George Washington, a Detroit attorney who represented a civil rights group opposing the law, said Michigan universities already give special consideration in admissions to certain groups of students, including those from rural backgrounds, those with lower incomes, and veterans.
What the law does is prohibit racial and ethnic minorities from asking for the same consideration in admissions as other groups, Washington said. [Is Washington saying that there are no blacks or Latinos with rural backrounds, with lower incomes, who are veterans????]
"What Proposal 2 does is say that for one group and one group alone, you can't follow that procedure," Washington said. He expects the case will go to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Appellate Court Judge R. Guy Cole wrote in the majority decision that the U.S. Supreme Court has twice held that the equal protection clause in the U.S. Constitution does not permit the kind of "political restructuring" caused by the Michigan law.
In her dissent, Appellate Judge Julia Smith Gibbons wrote that Proposal 2 does not draw distinctions on the basis of race but "in fact, it prohibits them."
The fight over affirmative action policies at Michigan's public colleges and universities began in the 1960s and 1970s, when African-American and other minority students first successfully lobbied for the policies' adoption.
The U.S. Supreme Court held in 2003 that universities cannot establish quotas for members of certain racial groups, but may consider race or ethnicity as a "plus" factor along with other factors.
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