Affirmative Action should have ended a LONG time ago.

[Jaylock]

What is Affirmative Action?

Affirmative Action refers to equal opportunity employment measures that Federal contractors and subcontractors are legally required to adopt. It has been taken a step further by instituting racial quotas on the number of minorities hired, and even the number of minority students admitted at Universities across the country.

Here in the United States, Affirmative Action gives minorities benefits and checks to make sure they are being treated fairly. There may have been a need for this action back in the 60s, and 70s when racial discrimination was at its peak in America. However, that time is long gone. We have advanced so far as a nation that Affirmative Action should not be instituted today.

Why should it not be instituted today?

Well look at what it does. Look at how contradictory Affirmative Action is within our constitution:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

All men are created equal? Yet the very premise of Affirmative Action puts men on unequal grounds. It elevates men and women JUST because of their skin color and ethnic background alone. At this time in American history, we have advanced far in the acceptance of all races. Why should an employer be forced to hire a black man, even though he may not be as qualified and suited for the position as his white counterpart? Why should the 3.9 gpa white student be denied admittance to the premiere university, just because the university has to look "fair" by admitting the 3.7 gpa hispanic student?

All of these issues are troubling to say the least. If we truly are "equal," why not abolish all measure to give unfair advantage to any race, white included?

[Beazy]

Affirmative action will be needed for about 10 more years, until the decrepit ol` timers from the 40s and 50s die off. Once they are gone, we wont need it anymore.

[Faloestin]

Those Constitutional truths were self-evident, except for the slaves who only counted for 3/5ths of a person. Affirmative action is necessary because weren't all equal then. We're not equal now, either - just look at incarceration rates: people of color make up 30% of the population, but 60% of the prison population.

[Deleted]

I agree that it is detrimental to society. For example, I know that our local fire brigade is required to hire a certain number of women and minorities even if their test scores are much lower than their white peers, this to me is just dangerous.

[Ebildays]

What is Affirmative Action?

Affirmative Action refers to equal opportunity employment measures that Federal contractors and subcontractors are legally required to adopt. It has been taken a step further by instituting racial quotas on the number of minorities hired, and even the number of minority students admitted at Universities across the country.

Here in the United States, Affirmative Action gives minorities benefits and checks to make sure they are being treated fairly. There may have been a need for this action back in the 60s, and 70s when racial discrimination was at its peak in America. However, that time is long gone. We have advanced so far as a nation that Affirmative Action should not be instituted today.

Why should it not be instituted today?

Well look at what it does. Look at how contradictory Affirmative Action is within our constitution:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

All men are created equal? Yet the very premise of Affirmative Action puts men on unequal grounds. It elevates men and women JUST because of their skin color and ethnic background alone. At this time in American history, we have advanced far in the acceptance of all races. Why should an employer be forced to hire a black man, even though he may not be as qualified and suited for the position as his white counterpart? Why should the 3.9 gpa white student be denied admittance to the premiere university, just because the university has to look "fair" by admitting the 3.7 gpa hispanic student?

All of these issues are troubling to say the least. If we truly are "equal," why not abolish all measure to give unfair advantage to any race, white included?

You know you are only pointing out how contradictory our constitution is because we had to make amendments to so that all men (and women) would be covered under the constitution. They did not hold women or minorities (which I am including the Irish and Italians because they had it hard as well) as being equal, it was only white protestant males that were deemed equal.

Also Affirmative Actions does not just go by race and ethnic background, it also includes sex, religion, and handicap. So that white male with MS could be an affirmative action hire just as the white female or black female.

[Rukentuts]

Affirmative action will be needed for about 10 more years, until the decrepit ol` timers from the 40s and 50s die off. Once they are gone, we wont need it anymore.

Reverse discrimination is never needed.

[Catta]

Reverse discrimination is never needed.

Because its not like people of a certain skin colour can be worse off for generations right after segregation ended?

[Deleted]

Because its not like people of a certain skin colour can be worse off for generations right after segregation ended?

You should get a job based on merit, experience and qualifications, not by skin colour in order to fill a quota.

[draynay]

We have advanced so far as a nation

you can't hear me laugh from across the internet so I'm typing to let you know this statement provoked laughter

also, that quote is from the Declaration of Independence

[ati87]

If you really think that only white guys work hard and that women and minorities are lazy then your at best naive.

Their is allot of discrimination in the world which isn't limited to private businesses. A recent study showed that women in the EU (or working for not sure exactly but irrelevant because it doesn't change anything) showed that women work on average 50 days for free compared to men. This is because women receive less money for the same work then men. The pay differences has been lower the previous years but that wasn't because women where making more but only because men where making less money.

Laws like the US Affirmative Action where originally implemented because of reasons such as these.

[starlord]

while we're at it lets remove protections from the voting rights act... oh wait.

[Kujako]

Affirmative action will be needed for about 10 more years, until the decrepit ol` timers from the 40s and 50s die off. Once they are gone, we wont need it anymore.

Sure it will, because it's existence breeds the type of hate it's supposed to be against. Every white kid who doesn't get into the college of their choice due to being light skinned when there is a quota for dark skinned students may for some reason harbor resentment.

Not saying that there are not some inequalities that need to be addressed, but if this is the manor we are to address them we will need to keep doing it for a long time.

[Anprionsa]

while we're at it lets remove protections from the voting rights act... oh wait.

Adding language to law that protects the rights of voters is different from a government backed quota system for minorities. Please don't confuse the two.

[Dreamless]

What is Affirmative Action?

Affirmative Action refers to equal opportunity employment measures that Federal contractors and subcontractors are legally required to adopt. It has been taken a step further by instituting racial quotas on the number of minorities hired, and even the number of minority students admitted at Universities across the country.

Here in the United States, Affirmative Action gives minorities benefits and checks to make sure they are being treated fairly. There may have been a need for this action back in the 60s, and 70s when racial discrimination was at its peak in America. However, that time is long gone. We have advanced so far as a nation that Affirmative Action should not be instituted today.

Why should it not be instituted today?

Well look at what it does. Look at how contradictory Affirmative Action is within our constitution:

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

All men are created equal? Yet the very premise of Affirmative Action puts men on unequal grounds. It elevates men and women JUST because of their skin color and ethnic background alone. At this time in American history, we have advanced far in the acceptance of all races. Why should an employer be forced to hire a black man, even though he may not be as qualified and suited for the position as his white counterpart? Why should the 3.9 gpa white student be denied admittance to the premiere university, just because the university has to look "fair" by admitting the 3.7 gpa hispanic student?

All of these issues are troubling to say the least. If we truly are "equal," why not abolish all measure to give unfair advantage to any race, white included?

Might want to do a little more research, "We hold these truths to be self-evident" is in the declaration of independence, not constitution.

[Hraklea]

People have to stop thinking that intention and results are the same thing. Of course that affirmative actions are moral, ethical, beauty, noble, etc. But "some people had disadvantages in the past, therefore giving them advantages in the future will lead to a equal society" doesn't work in real world.

Actions that help minorities, no matter how selfish they sound > Action that intent to improve the minorities, no matter how flawed they are

[Endus]

There are two important concepts. There is what is equal, and there is what is equitable. Equal means that everything is perfectly even. This is not always the right thing. Equitable policies are used to address the legacies of past wrongs, and that's what affirmative action exists to do. It will not be around forever, but the damage done by decades of enslavement followed by further decades as second-class citizens does not correct itself in a single generation.

The issue is that while minority groups in the US and elsewhere today may have equal rights, they do not have equal opportunity. That discrepancy is what affirmative action is intended to address. Once, say, African Americans have the same equality of opportunity as white kids in the US do, statistically, affirmative action will no longer be necessary. Until then, we're still undoing the wrong that was done to them.

[starlord]

Adding language to law that protects the rights of voters is different from a government backed quota system for minorities. Please don't confuse the two.

they are both protections for minorities that are being called for removal.

[Kujako]

they are both protections for minorities that are being called for removal.

No, a voting law simular to affirmative action would be that you can only count 4 white votes for every 1 minority vote.

[Masark]

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."

And once everyone actually follows that idea, affirmative action will be unnecessary and should then be ended.

I see no evidence presented of that currently being the case.

[Kujako]

And once everyone actually follows that idea, affirmative action will be unnecessary and should then be ended.

I see no evidence presented of that currently being the case.

I dont disagree and I can't off hand think of a viable alternative to affirmative action, but it must be recognized that it causes the exact sort of resentment it is supposed to address.