Posted by Dan Ewert : 2/24/2003 11:03:00 PM (Archive Link)
Much has been made lately of affirmative action and its legality and morality. It should be done away with. Affirmative action is essentially the forced preference of one racial group on the assumption that without it, preference will be unfairly and prejudicially bestowed on another racial group. My view on affirmative action is that it was once necessary in that government, institutions, and companies favored whites over minorities. Affirmative action forced integration of these entities and has changed managerial attitudes towards these groups over several generations. The evolution and efficacy of law in defending equal opportunity has also come a long way and the courts are therefore an effective recourse in the event of actual discrimination resulting from removal of affirmative action rules. Now that the law and institutional practices have evolved to sufficiently ensure non-discrimination in the workplace and admissions processes, there is simply no need to create or maintain rules that assume such discrimination still exists and will run rampant unless otherwise counteracted. In other words, this isn’t the 1960’s and we need to stop acting like it is.

Now given that there are still rules in effect that dictate minority hiring, contracting, admittance, etc., I think they’re a shame and work most against the minorities themselves. Affirmative action leaves the minorities in a state of feeling inferior to whites, engenders an attitude in government and elsewhere that is exactly the opposite of what it’s supposed to generate, and it gives the illusion of successes which create an attitude of complacency when real progress still needs to be made.

If you have a group that believes it must depend on governmental intercession to ensure their representation in government, schools, companies, etc., then it automatically puts them in the position of feeling inferior because that’s what it assumes. Affirmative action encourages a victimization complex among those it’s intended to supposedly benefit. By its very nature, it states that group A is inferior to group B and must therefore be given preferential treatment. An individual who is constantly told that this is the way of things will feel resentment toward group B, will feel as if true merit-based achievement is unattainable and non-existent, and can produce a feeling of despair in the face of an unfair world which produces inaction in the quest for self-improvement. In short, affirmative action constantly tells the minority that they are not good enough on their own and this breeds contempt, bitterness, and despair. It is an utter psychological assault that civil rights leaders commit upon those who they claim to hold dear.

Affirmative action doesn’t result in negative attitudes among just the minorities, but in government and companies as well. Since it assumes that minorities need help in advancement, then lawmakers and the managerial class necessarily looks down on minorities as inferior. This is essentially the flip-side of the previous argument. The minorities see themselves as underprivileged and in need of help and now the “privileged” look down on them as well. There’s the nannied and the nanny. So instead of the idea that minorities are able and capable on their own, the powers that be see them as inferior and needing constant help. The entities that are supposed to aid in advancement are inhibiting actual growth in the minorities.

Also, while there are certainly innumerable minority achievements that are well-deserved and well-earned, affirmative action mandates that there are many false achievements. If there are less-qualified individuals who are being admitted to post-secondary educational institutions or who are being promoted, it creates the illusion that real progress is being made; it makes it seem that highly qualified individuals are earning their accomplishments when they actually are not. As such, the degree of success is not, in reality, occurring. Since it is only the illusion of merited progress that exists, real progress remains elusive. The illusion, though, creates complacency where real efforts still need to be made. There are still strong reasons to improve education at the basic level and to improve communities and cultures. Only by doing this will real progress be made.

Affirmative action now does the opposite of what it originally set out to accomplish. Instead of advancing minorities, it now holds them back; instead of empowering, it weakens; instead of building respect, it builds pity. The war for equality is not yet won; the battle for attitudes was successful, but the battle for real merit-based equality is still being waged. Affirmative action, though, works against a real meritocracy. It kills spirits and puts a poor gloss on an unfortunate reality. It’s an idea whose time is past.