Affirmative Action

I believe that affirmative action is one of the most controversial subject's in American politics. In my opinion affirmative action is moral and I believe that it has its place in our society but affirmative action does do some unintentional harm. A black man and a white man could be applying to a college or for a job and have the same qualifications, who does the employer choose? If it was me I would choose who I felt fit the place better. Things begin to get dicey when people who are affected on the opposite end of affirmative action. When someone is trying to get a job and is passed over for someone who is less qualified because of affirmative action, I can understand their anger, but people have to realize where people who benefit from affirmative action have come from. For years African Americans and other minorities where getting nowhere in the work place because people wouldn't give them the opportunity to prove themselves. This also applied to these groups trying to get into colleges. Back in the day affirmative action defiantly had its place, and even though it should still be around I think that we must tinker with it a little. There will always be racists out there so we need affirmative action out there to help protect those who need protection from it.

I think affirmative action is not longer needed. Times now are a lot more different, and people are a lot more tolerant of social matters than they were 50 years ago. However, not everyone thinks like I do. Today there still exists racism, and unfortunately it is bad enough to completely overlook an individuals merits. I view affirmative action as an added bonus for being born with a tan. The individuals of these minority groups, which the policies that our government has passed benefit the most, should not solely depend on those pieces of legislature to ensure our employment. I think that we as individuals or members a minority group have a duty to prove the law wrong. That minorities should not need the law to invisibly boost someones abilities. As a veteran, there is preference or tax breaks for people that hire veterans. In some cases this helps veterans out, but again it doesn't hide the fact if a person can do a job or not. There was also lazy people in the military that completely sucked at their job. The military taught me how to lead Marines. Some of the best leadership and discipline qualities can be found in some of our service members. Those qualities, if retained by the individual, are the traits that are held in high favor among companies. In other words, the persons individual abilities should be what gets them the job or not. Not the color of their skin, or gender, sexual orientation, etc. Just as long as the individual can perform the job with the highest quality and up to the standards of the company that is hiring the individual. With more time though people will start to realize that they can indeed overlook someones race, color, gender, etc. Rate people on the simple principle of their individual abilities. I think that the time is ahead of us, for we can actually see the changes going on in the media right now. Right now things are chaotic, and there has been a lot social movements that have occurred within the last 50+ years. Minorities should like I previously stated, do all that is possible, to prove the law wrong, and show people that our abilities are just as good.

Affirmative Action

I believe Affirmative Action was good when it first was put to use, but it is immoral to use it now. I also believe everybody should have a fair chance at life. Who is to say one person is better than the others just because of race or ethnicity? We do not choose to be born a certain way, it is just how life happens. It is a form of discrimination to tell somebody they cannot be hired because of their color or being a female. It is unlawful because they are being discriminated before they are even tested for the job.  The way I see it, it is immoral to hire a person just based on looks. They have to be given a chance to prove they are worthy material.

It is crucial that certain things are put into the spotlight. For example, picture two guys (one white and one black) applying for the same job. The white guy has little to no experience in the field and did not attend college. Not only did the black guy attend and graduate college, but he has a lot of experience in the field. They hire the white guy because they believe he has the potential to bring their company further success while the other guy is told the spot is filled. The way the future should be is anybody and everybody should have a fair chance at any job or educational opportunity. It is unfair to an individual that grew up in poverty to be denied an educational opportunity because there is no financial aid. Meanwhile, the rich and wealthy people are given grants and financial aid to go to school. In my eyes, that’s immoral and everybody should be treated fairly. We all share the world together, so why not work together to make life easy for everybody.

Affirmative Action

I feel that affirmative action for the most part is immoral because it focuses on a persons gender or race and not their qualifications and intelligence. Schools and businesses should accept or hire people that are the best candidates. Affirmative action was definitely necessary in the past where racism and gender discrimination was much stronger. Even though discrimination will always exist, it is a lot less prevalent in todays society then back in the days of civil war. The only type of affirmative action I slightly agree with is the tiebreaker. This occurs when two candidates are equally qualified but the minority receives the job. If a company had much more white candidates then minorities then I would be ok with this happening. However, in a perfect world affirmative action would not be necessary. I definitely disagree with giving preferences to historically oppressed applicants if they are less qualified with other top candidates or if they only have minimal qualifications. 

I also disagree with the two arguments in support of affirmative action. Backward Looking Justifications provides compensation for past injustices. This is unfair because the people receiving these preferences were not alive when the injustices occurred. I think it is best to learn from the mistakes of our countries past and learn from them, rather then try to make up for it by giving certain people preferential treatment. Forward Looking Justifications provides necessary means for achieving important social goals. I don't think this is necessary because in most cases people of all genders and races have equal opportunity. I know the world is not a perfect place, but I believe having an African-American President is the perfect example of equal opportunity and that people of all races have a chance to succeed. 

Affirmative Action

      In my eyes I believe that Affirmative Action was a great idea and was a helpful way to up lift our society. When it was first put into play programs were set to overcome the effects of past social discrimination by setting up jobs and resources to members of specific groups. To me Affirmative Action is immoral because I believe everyone on this earth should have a fair chance at life and receiving jobs and getting accepted to college not by race nor their finical stability. Who is to say a group of people are better than another or anyone else just because of race or ethnicity. I would say Affirmative Action is important to help people that really need it the most and help them, but it should never necessarily apply to specific group of people like it did in the pass because that’s just immoral and unfair. Everyone struggles and has a time in their life where they need help and may need an opportunity to prove to themselves that their capable of helping themselves. So therefore, Affirmative Action should no longer exist. It was great for that point in time when it was needed, but times have changed and so have people to some extent. There is no need for a group of specific people get a job or accepted into a public or private university based on the color of their skin. We do not choose the way we are born it’s just  a certain way god wanted us to be and that’s just how life falls into place just accepting who and what you are black, hispanic, or white. The people who go and apply for the job should be qualified based on their abilities and not what race or gender they are. Allowing the less qualified people to get the position is really not efficient our society because by doing that were just hurting ourselves and it’s immoral. It would make most sense to give the job to to the most qualified applicant based on ability and what they have to bring to the table not race or gender. Even though Affirmative Action helped people in the past it can also hurt people through reverse discrimination, which is discrimination against whites or males as in employment or education (Webster). It’s immoral and a form of discrimination to tell somebody they can’t be hired based off the color or being a female, their being discriminated before they are even interviewed let alone tested for the job. It’s just immoral to hire a person just based on looks and not brains or qualifications. Everyone has to be given a chance to prove their worthy in this world. It is immoral giving a job to a person less qualified for example, two guys are applying for the same job position (one white and the other black). The white guy has no experience in the field what so ever, he dropped out of high school and never got his GED. The black guy graduated from high school and college he has experience in the field and he’s qualified, but instead they hire the white guy because it’s said that they believe he has the potential to further the company’s success while the well qualified guy is told he is over qualified and the spot is filled. The way it should be is anybody and everybody should have a fair chance at any job or educational. It’s unjust for anyone who struggled when they grow to be denied any opportunity that comes their way. The times have changed and in this present day Affirmative Action is not helping society thrive it’s hurting it. Even though there’s still discrimination among people the Affirmative Action Act is not helping the cause one bit.

Affirmative Action.

The criticisms against affirmative action certainly exceed the arguments for it. Which really makes this social issue very controversial for the public. It is unjust for both ends. Sometimes what's right is not necessarily what's best, and vice versa.
It is arguable that most if not all cultures empathize for victims of oppression and invest both financially and morally to help the oppressed move upward in what sociologists define as social mobility.
Historically, we've also witnessed reconciliation to victims. Only a couple of years ago Germany finally paid off its debt in reparations to mostly France, a debt from a conflict that started almost a century ago. The US government has granted preservation of land to native american communities as well as taxation free policies.
And this brings a very debatable topic. Are reparations and reconciliations based on morality or is it a responsibility?
Personally, I don't agree with the idea of coercive or mandatory compensation. Compensation should come out of the oppressor's wish for redemption. Thus, I believe affirmative action is immoral. It should not be ongoing since it could be outdated, it is quite hypocritical and unjust. Going back to the topic of minorities in the work place, it is unjust to deny or grant a position in a company simply because of someone's heritage, ethnicity or gender.
Whatever happened to a merit based society? Isn't that what we are taught from childhood? Affirmative action is not motivational if an individual could achieve greater or start with an advantage simply because he or she was born into a specific ethnic group.

Affirmative Action

Affirmative action is so controversial because many individuals feel affirmative action is discrimination in reverse, affording employment, sports, and education to less qualified candidates merely because of race or gender.

“Affirmative action” means positive steps taken to increase the representation of women and minorities in areas of employment, education, and business from which they have been historically excluded. When those steps involve preferential selection—selection on the basis of race, gender, or ethnicity—affirmative action generates intense controversy.

While it sounds good in theory, the idea of what helping the undeserved and underrepresented, it is not fixing the problem. The damage has been done, and more is needed then preferential treatment. Real justice will be served when the underprivileged and undeserved are helped from the very beginning.  

Many in this country don't succeed not because they don't want to; more so, they don't succeed because they aren't prepared intellectually and lack the resources, synonymous with "making it," with living the American dream. At one point blacks were not allowed to read or write. So when knowing they didn’t have a chance to be educated is truly unfair. Without access to be educated the journey to success is nothing more than a ‘hoop dream.’ Hoop dreams apply to all kids whose main person is following a dream to be a professional athlete. More parents are supporting that dream, especially if they weren’t educated in the first place.

In conclusion, I think it’s important for minorities to know about these things because as a minority myself I don’t want to be held back from my dream because of my race. All in all, I think anyone with a dream should go after it and it shouldn’t matter the race. Everyone deserves an education and fair chance at whatever they are trying to pursue for a better future.

Affirmative action

I think affirmative action is immoral and that it shouldn’t to any extent be taken into consideration when it comes to hiring in the job market or accepting people to a school. Affirmative action may have been necessary ten, twenty, or fifty years ago, and some people may argue that it’s necessary today too but I don’t think it is. There’s still discrimination in the world today, but not as much as it was back then. I don’t agree with the backward looking justifications argument that minorities and women should get compensation for past injustices. Why should todays people “pay the cost” of our ancestors’ actions? Affirmative action may have helped a lot of minority people to get jobs and to have good lives, but I don’t think it’s fair that a person gets a job just based on the fact that he or she is black, Asian, woman, Jewish, etc. I think that the person who is best qualified for the job and makes the best impression in the job interview should get hired, regardless of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin. If that person is a black woman she should get the job, and if that person is a white man he should get the job. Imagine that you’re the manager of a company; you would try to get the best employees that you can get. If you then are looking for a new employee and you have to hire a person based on affirmative action, and not based on the qualifications for the job, it might mean that you can’t hire the best employee possible, which won’t benefit the company. And seen from the qualified person who doesn’t get the job’s view: he/she has been working hard in school for years to get a good education, and now he/she can’t get the dream job because the manager had to try to redress the injustices caused by the people who lived 100 years ago. Neither the manager nor the best-qualified applier benefits from this situation.

Affirmative Action

     Personally, my view is that affirmative action is, for the most part, unjust. Don't get me wrong, I think that equality and diversity are vital parts of a truly healthy society. But I don't think that taking job opportunities away from someone just because they're white, a man, or both is the answer. Yes, injustices far worse than this have been committed by white men to other social groups in the past, but the point is that it was the past. I did not commit those injustices, and neither did the vast majority of the white American men that are living in today's society. Therefore, we are not responsible and should not be held responsible for the things that our ancestors have done. After all, an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind. Many people believe that the "tie-breaker" concept of affirmative action is the generally accepted form of the policy. While it is certainly reasonable to an extent, I personally do not like this form, because it is still showing favor of one person over the other based on ethnicity or gender.
     Instead, I feel that tie-breakers should be based solely off of merit in less obvious areas of a person's history and/or performance (i.e. how they did in college, community service, tie-breaking tests, etc.) These are all standards that are not based off of any factors outside of the applicants' control, but rather decisions that the applicant has made over the course of their life, as well as how hard they chose to work to get to where they're at now. Eventually, one candidate will get an edge and be more qualified for the job, whether they be Black, White, Man, Woman, Robot, Dinosaur, or somewhere in-between.

affirmative action

In regards to affirmative action I believe that it is necessary to provide a nation of equal opportunity. I think affirmative action is moral because it helps regulate the unmoral actions of the job fields. I suppose hirers should have the freedom to hire whomever they feel fit but it isn’t right to refuse someone a job just because of their skin color or ethnicity. I agree with affirmative action

We all deserve to start on a level playing field and let our personal qualifications and experience determine the more qualified. However it can be hard to determine which traits a hirer will carry as more beneficial.  Although times have changed and discrimination against African Americans has decreased, discrimination is still very present among people of all races and ethnicities. People are always going to favor one group over another, especially if they are part of that specific group. Caucasians are more likely to hire Caucasians because they can relate to them. This can be seen among all groups of people. Most people want to stick with people of similar social group because it gives them an automatic sense of trust and bonding with the other person.  Sometimes people are only looking for a specific type of person for their business and don’t want to hire anyone else. For example I applied for a job at a bakery in my town that my friend works at. She told me they only hire girls to work at the store. I thought this was stupid because I can sell cakes just as well as anyone else however I assume the owner has some reason for this discrimination.  If you’re looking for a bathing suit model you’re not going to hire a fat person because no one would by that so it’s not being discriminate towards fat people just because a thinner person would look better. The same example can be applied to other situations as well.

Affirmative Action

By definition, affirmative action is the encouragement of increased representation of women and minority-group members, especially in employment. There are different variations and gradations of affirmative action.  For example:

• ·         Ensuring an adequate pool of historically oppressed applicants

• ·         Giving preferences to historically oppressed applicants

o   Tie Breaker – If equally qualified with other top applicants

o   If slightly less qualified than the top qualified

o   If they have at least the minimal qualifications

• ·         Quotas systems

Some people may argue that affirmative action is reverse discrimination, and therefore immoral because it gives one group an advantage while putting another group at an obvious disadvantage.  They may also go on to say that instead of focusing on minority groups, who may be getting along just fine, we should focus our attention on poor families and poor neighborhoods in order to minimize the disparity between the wealthy and the poor.

            Both arguments are weak; more so the former than the latter. Affirmative action is far from reverse discrimination. Another word for discrimination is judgment. If blacks and whites reversed the roles that they had in the late 1700s up to the late 1900s, then there would be no need for affirmative action because then true judgment would be passed and whites will have endured what blacks had to endure. Since this is not what affirmative action entails, it clearly cannot be true judgment and therefore blacks aren’t receiving full compensation. One might say that, the latter generations are reaping the rewards that belong to their predecessors, which is immoral. I say, better them than no one.  Affirmative action is a very light, painless, judgment that doesn’t give enough compensation to those who were oppressed. But it is better than no compensation at all. To discontinue affirmative action would be to say that blacks have received enough compensation for their past sufferings, which is simply not true.

            The second argument stating that we should focus more of our attention on poor families rather than blacks is a contradiction because statistics will show that many blacks are living in poverty so they still deserve more assistance. Between 2010 and 2011, 35% of blacks lived below the poverty line while only 13% of whites were in the same category (http://kff.org/other/state-indicator/poverty-rate-by-raceethnicity/). To give poor families an advantage would be to give many blacks an advantage. In reality there are no plausible arguments against affirmative action.

            However, I believe that affirmative action can be detrimental to the progression of our society if it is not well-regulated. By this, I mean that minorities should only be given preference over other applicants if they are equally qualified by instituting a tie breaker. This will insure that we continue moving forward as a society regarding new ideas and innovations. It is more important to continue moving forward than it is to dwell on the past. Tie breakers will give those who were oppressed an incentive to work harder, diversity will increase within the workplace, and society will continue to advance. I recognize that it is important to make up for previous transgressions. But if we spend our time trying to bandage our wounds from the past, we will miss opportunities to safeguard our future. For example, there are many incurable diseases that are affecting our families today, and if a less qualified researcher is chosen over one who is more qualified, our chances of finding these pivotal cures will not be as strong, and although our past may determine who we are right now, our present will determine who we become. To illuminate my argument, consider the civil rights movement. Arguments were not being made for whites to address issues of the past; instead, blacks were fighting for rights regarding their futures and their children’s futures. Where we are going is far more important than where we have been.

Affirmative Action

               Affirmative action comes in a few different forms. The most basic creates an even playing field for all ethnicities and genders by offering training programs for the less privileged. Another form is to give preference to minorities when hiring. This could come in a tie breaker, where both applicants are equally qualified, or more radical cases where a less qualified minority would get the position. Lastly is the quota system, which is outdated and rarely ever used. This system required that a certain amount of different races were hired, regardless of quality. This method not only ignores the problem, but gives the illusion of solving it so that it can be easily ignored.

I believe there is a need for affirmative action. The problem isn’t that there aren’t minorities in certain careers, the problem is that minorities can be underprivileged and do not have the means to reach the same goals. We live in a society that believes that if you work hard enough you can achieve anything and that simply isn’t true. This is an extremely harmful way of thinking because now any person who is impoverished is just ‘lazy.’ I believe that preparing the underprivileged to help them find work is a great idea. I even think that a tie-breaker is good too. It won’t solve the problem, but it could help for now. What we really need is equal education. State testing results often affect the funding that school receives. The schools with lower scores get less funding. This tactic only hurts children who were hurting in the first place. If we take priority in bringing everyone to the same educational level, maybe we could start to see less of a need for affirmative action.  Many think that affirmative action should apply to social class instead of race or gender, and that is a good idea but it should be in conjunction with what is already in place. But if a majority of blacks or Hispanics fall into the under-employed category, we should recognize a problem there. 

I believe Affirmative Action is ludicrous and should never be accounted when hiring, or accepting someone into a school or business. It is very unethical to judge someone on gender,race, ethnicity before hiring them or accepting them. After reading the different articles on Affirmative Action there were a couple spectrum's that I did and didn't agree with. I do think that the past "White mans" action were pitiful and embarrassing especially for me who is white and having to hear about the horrors that white people did to African Americans. With that being said woman were treated like toys with no brains as well by the "White Man". This awful part of our history to me is like an ex boyfriend who was awful. I think it's best to leave it in the past. I think it will always be taught and part of our history but when it comes to the job force or schools today I don't think a white boy fresh out of college that he perhaps paid for himself should get less recognition because he is white because someone in his ancestry that he didn't even know existed. All races and all genders should be looked at by more than that. They should be noticed for their personalities, their charisma, and their people skills. Equality could be ours if we just worked as a species to put the hate away and start fresh. Unfortunately that statement isn't realistic in the world we live in today. Racism is still alive and hate is still alive. I think to help create a work force and education system without these discriminatory acts government officials or school and labor groups need to set up rules and maybe perhaps background checks into the application processes to make sure someone wasn't given a job for the wrong reasons. Point of this is that I think all jobs need to have all different types of people male and female and of all different sorts of ethnicity  This would help hiring and accepting candidates without being as bias as a job force with a prominent selection of one race or one gender.

Alexandra Spencer

Affirmative Action

            There were times in which affirmative action defiantly was useful especially right after all the civil rights movements which were granting more rights to minorities and women when African Americans. At this time putting affirmative action into place was absolutely necessary even if the employer or university claimed that they would not be discriminatory there probably still was. This helped minorities and women to be able to get jobs or get into universities that they otherwise would not have been able to because of the help affirmative action. Now being that it is the year 2013 I do not believe that these laws or practices should still be in place. Now we have become a very blended society and in most cases everyone is treated equally regardless of sex or race. People now get the job or into the university because they are qualified for it not because they need to fill a quota.

            This is a society today everyone is supposed to be treated equally and if a person is better qualified than they should get the job or get into the university regardless of race or gender. I think that affirmative action can cause reverse discrimination. For someone who is better qualified for a job but does not get it because the business has to hire more minorities because of affirmative action so they chose the lesser qualified applicant. This to me in unfair and should not be the case anymore. I believe that everyone deserves equal opportunity race and gender should not play a factor when hiring for a job or getting into a university. I believe more in the tie-breaker model that as long as they are equally qualified with the other applicants that the employer should chose the better applicant regardless of anything else. This model I think provides more of a balance in the work place and will put into place a better dynamic if there is more equal opportunity. I also think that race and gender should not be a factor or something that should have to be put on a resume because the employers should hire based on the proper credentials not anything else. In a perfect world everything should be equal and fair to everyone regardless of race or gender and I think our country has made great progress over the years with these issues and I hope that we continue to progress. 

Affirmative Action

Affirmative action is a subject matter based solely upon an attempt at eliminating racial biasing and achieving equality for all through opportunity. Yet, each individual circumstance in which the principles of affirmative action would serve justice should be handled within its own realm. The concepts that a race learns better from their own kind, or gender vis-à-vis, should not be a determining factor in fulfilling a position. This then allows the gender or race in itself to become a quality worth considering for competence and more so proficiency, which further reinforces the discord affirmative action was put in place to eliminate. Consequently, the social concept that the race of a figure or model can affect societies outlook on the adequacies of that racial group must be considered. Simply put, people that fill an esteemed role or position become a representative of their own heritage and culture. For this fact affirmative action can accept morality only under certain variations, which are:

-Ensuring an adequate pool of historically oppressed applicants and

-Giving preferences to historically oppressed applicants if they’re equally qualified with other top candidates, better known as the Tiebreaker model.

Any other alternatives to affirmative action must be denounced due to their unethical behavior. To overlook the quality of an individual in favor of their race, heritage, or culture can and will pass for racial discrimination, regardless of what end of the racial spectrum it is acting on. Affirmative action should not consume any enterprise or industrial entity as its primary concern and should only be considered after all other factors of the employees’ expectations.

                                                                       Affirmative Action

Jahmari Erkerd

            Affirmative Action in any shape or form is wrong. Pojman’s idea of individuals rights being color blind is right. We don’t need to payback the injustices done to people in the past. People who had nothing to do with something that happened decades ago should not have to pay the price today. This leads to a reverse discrimination mainly against white males. Affirmative Action gives unearned privileges to people of color or women. A question I have is why does it not extend to poor working class people who are white men?

            Some people may agree with Thompson’s point of view that universities can’t impose these policies on their schools, but that some Affirmative Action is okay. If we draw the line with private schools, then why not with public? Why should a white male be treated differently if he has the same qualifications as a person of color or a woman? In all likely hood he is not responsible for past injustices himself. In all likely hood he is not a racist or a person who looks down on women. Even if his past relatives were responsible why should he be held accountable? I understand that society is complex and we do see ourselves as a race or a gender and that it is okay to talk about rights in the abstract but we have social problems we need to address. Color blindness may not even be possible. This could be more about social inequality in general. For this country to function at it’s best, the most qualified person for the job needs to get it.     

Affirmative Action

            When it comes to Affirmative Action, I am in support of ensuring an adequate pool of historically oppressed applicants but nothing further than that. I feel that Affirmative Action is needed because it is a proactive way of addressing previous discrimination against women and minority races in jobs and education however offering positions to slightly less qualified minorities or quotas are simply immoral.

 In my opinion, Affirmative Action is a form of reverse discrimination. Reverse discrimination violates the right of whites and men who in turn loss opportunities.

In the case of applying for college it often occurs that those minorities that are not at the same intelligence level as the rest of the student body are accepted to show the University’s support of diversity. Therefore the better, more qualified student is then at a disadvantage and may in return get a lesser education. The deciding factor should be merit, not race or gender.

As for jobs, if society gives preferences to historically oppressed applicants in the form of a tie breaker or by any other means, we are then creating a less productive and mediocre society. Jobs should go to those who fulfill the means to productively accomplish the daily tasks required by said job. If we encourage less qualified applicants to take jobs based on historical oppression rather than those who can more successfully complete the job then we are encouraging a society of incompetence.

Affirmative Action also increases racial tension. When it is in place, Affirmative Action makes a point to single people out based on their race. Whether that is to help them in the case of a minority or to level the playing the field, in the case of white males.  Instead of having everyone identify as a human being or as an American, we are once again making a person’s race help decide their future. Affirmative Action pins race against race, minorities against whites. History is almost repeating its self instead of creating a more unified America. 

Affirmative Action

Affirmative action was a huge step for America back in the 1960's but is it still relevant now? After passing new anti racism laws america was on the right track to equality and a "level playing field" in the mid 1900's but after all this time are they still ethical? Honestly, I can play both sides of this argument. I can see why someone would say having these laws in 2013 is immoral because of the fact that racism shouldn't exist in america anymore, but unfortunately racism still exists and minorities are safer with this law. I believe these laws are moral and should stay in place until racism is completely abolished, which is something I don't see happening any time soon.
I believe in the level playing field argument, and the argument for compensation from those who innocently benefited from past injustice because minorities deserve equal rights and people who have harmed them in the past should compensate them. I do not believe in the Compensation argument for preferential affirmative action because i do not see the whole white society paying blacks for compensation being fair. The people directly involved should be the ones paying not people who had nothing to do with it. Certain people should be forced to compensate but not everyone.
without a doubt, affirmative action will continue being a part of American culture for many more years to come. Hopefully within the next few decades racism can be abolished and the memory of affirmative action goes with it. A society where color does not make a difference is what we should all aim for to not only better ourselves but to also benefit the planet.

Affirmative Action: is it still fair?

Tonishia Signore                                 Affirmative Action

I believe that affirmative action was a necessary and worthwhile cause when it was first implemented however in today’s society it is no longer applicable. I believe it is no longer moral or necessary because the people who were being oppressed (Blacks, women, etc.) are now offered (basically) the same opportunities as say, white men. I do not believe with my coming generation that gender or color will be as much as a dividend as economic classes. For example, just because a person is a woman does not mean that she cannot go to college, however if she is a woman with little money, raised in a poor neighborhood, her chances may be less. In further argument I believe very simply it is unethical to give a scholarship to a wealthy black student, over a poor white student, simply because the black student is a different color. Assistance should be provided based on need, no matter what color, gender, or religion a person is.

think it is fair to say that still applying affirmative action in today’s society is a serious form of reverse discrimination. According to certain forms affirmative action, if a person has fewer qualifications, but is a historically oppressed minority and is applying for a job alongside a non-minority, they will still receive the job. How is that fair? Even if the person in the majority has worked their absolute hardest and made huge sacrifices, it would not matter. Simply because they are white they will not be given the job. My personal standing is that people are people, color or religion should never be a factor. Whether the decision be a job, college, scholarship, advancement opportunities, or any other wide range of possibilities, it should not be based on physical characteristics but rather social and economic facts, which prove necessity. 

Affirmative Action

I believe that affirmative action can be considered to be moral to an extent and in a certain situation.  Situations that include two candidates for either a job, education or any other kind of position in which you compete for a role where both are equally qualified.  In this situation affirmative action should be taken place since those who are usually part of a group that is discriminated against don't usually get the position.  It should be given to them because the group that they belong to can easily be the minority of what they are applying for and if they are given the opportunity there might no longer be a minority.  

Although, in any given situation gender, race, religion or any other reasoning for discrimination should not be the deciding factor but when it comes down to it no matter what it usually does play some role.  In such situations where the first candidate of a minority group is more qualified then the second candidate who usually is not discriminated against and the second candidate gets the position then this is when affirmative action should come in place.  An example of this might be a black man who is more qualified then a white man although the white man gets the position because of the color of there skin.  This is when stereotypes come in, and when one is in a position of hiring someone the word stereotype should not be in there vocabulary.  The candidate who is more qualified in any given situation should be the one to get the position.  Just because one might be a different race, gender, poor or rich this should not give one a reason to belittle them.  One should not be bias to a person who might fall under a certain group, if one is qualified for something they deserve it more then anyone else.  Those who have jobs should have them for one reason only which is because they not only deserve it but because they are qualified not because they are the race and gender that the person hiring is looking for.  It is thought to be that when in a position of hiring they are usually looking for a white male however this is not always the case.  An example could be a nursing position a female is usually picked before a male is because females are usually raised to be more nurturing then males.  Again this is when affirmative action should come in place because no one should be discriminated against for the person that they are.

Affirmative action

I believe affirmative action to be immoral on all its levels. It doesn't make sense to try and solve perceived inequality with more inequality or seek compensation from those who had nothing to do slavery. On college applications bubbling in and identifying your race shouldn't qualify or disqualify you for anything, it should be based upon your accomplishments only.

One of America’s greatest and longest standing principles is meritocracy. It should always be the best man for the job, the most qualified; the one who has put in the time and work to achieve their goals should achieve them and not be disqualified because they are not meeting a quota or share a similar background with those already in the field. Not only is it a disservice to those qualified individuals who have to give up their spot because they are white, rewarding hard work with injustice, it is also a disservice to blacks. Affirmative action take the position that blacks aren't otherwise qualified or don’t merit jobs on their own and therefore must step  in, rewarding lazy behavior or reinforcing negative stereotypes. Affirmative action also serves as a detriment to society. If I or one of my family members was severely injured and the first responders have just the minimum qualifications and were given the job over more qualified applicants that can make a huge difference in somebody’s life.

We can never put racism truly in the past while we still have institutions such as affirmative actions that flaunt favoritism and reverse discrimination.  Affirmative action is guilty of the very thing it was it was created to address, racism.

                

Affirmative Action

I believe that Affirmative Action was once helpful to society. Since the U.S. has changed majorly from when it was created there needs to be provisions to the law. I believe that it is important to help people that need to be helped but it does not necessarily apply to the group of people that it has in the past. Affirmative Action is immoral and should no longer exist.

There is no need to help people get a public job or into a public university. Those people admitted should be qualified based on their abilities not what race or gender they are. Allowing people that are less qualified to get the position is not efficient to society it is immoral. It would make most sense to give it to the most qualified applicant based on ability not race or gender.

Affirmative Action may have helped some individuals in the past but also could have hurt people through reverse discrimination. It is immoral to have to deny someone a position because the company needs a female or a person of a different race. People may argue that people of a certain race deserve the position because they are qualified but a white male may be more qualified for the position and therefore should have the job. It is immoral giving the job to a person less qualified. Not only does it hurt the company it also hurts the person being denied.

Times have changed and people that need assistance get it through other means. Affirmative Action is not helping society thrive it is hurting society. There might still be discrimination but Affirmative Action is not helping the cause it might actually be making it worse.