Preview

Affirmative Action Wrong or Right

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1100 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Affirmative Action Wrong or Right
Affirmative Action
Wrong or Right

Affirmative action is wrong and will not help solve the problems minorities face. The reason it is wrong is because it's discrimination. It has no place in today's society in today's society because it does more bad than good. In addition to that most people don't enjoy the presence of affirmative action. Also, it appears that affirmative action can actually be detrimental to employee's health.

First of all, affirmative action is discrimination; there is no hiding it. When an employer hires anyone because he or she is a minority, even if someone else if more qualified to do the job, it is discrimination. Just because it is reverse discrimination, when whites are discriminated against and minorities are being discriminated for, doesn't make it right. Affirmative action legalizes discrimination (Steele 1990, 39). "I thought discrimination was illegal in this country (Buchanan 1995, 1)." Also, if this discrimination continues racism in the United States may become worse. Imagine what you would feel like if you couldn't get a job just because you are a white man and not a Hispanic man. The racism will become worse because of it, and that is the very thing it is trying to prevent. It is possible that because of affirmative action, racism will grow and continue to grow until we history repeats itself and we end up living under Jim Crow laws again. That is an extra! eme possibility to end up under Jim Crow laws again, but it is a definite possibility to end up somewhere close to Jim Crow laws again.

In addition to that, people say affirmative action is ok because it cures past discrimination (Keyes 1996, 1). Discrimination wasn't ok when blacks were the ones getting the short end of the stick. Therefore it's not ok when whites are discriminated against (DeWit 1996, 1). Two wrongs don't make a right. Therefore, affirmative action doesn't make discrimination ok just because it's against blacks instead of

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Better Essays

    Now that a bit of history on affirmative action has been covered, it is important to look at why affirmative action policies should be put into action at your company. Affirmative action would be very beneficial to your company for many reasons. It allows for a more diversified workplace, it is a way to allow all races to have equal rights, it shows that everyone has the ability to be great at their job, that people can be more productive by sharing various thoughts, plans, and ideas for the betterment of not only the company, but themselves as well, regardless of their gender, race, or ethnicity.…

    • 1549 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    It violates the American ideal of “equal opportunity” and now white men opportunities aren’t equal. It is a destruction of justice. Affirmative Action claims that if you get applicants for a job and you receive zero qualified applicants that are black or women and don’t hire any, you are a misogynistic racist and you must meet a certain quota for the sake of equality. This is not equality, it is racism. I love this part of Newton’s article, but I believe she gets too far ahead of herself in the upcoming…

    • 695 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    In this essay I will expose what I see as the shortcomings of the current…

    • 1733 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Rocket boys

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Why do we need affirmative action? It is common sense to say that people should naturally be judged on their merits, without consideration of other factors such as race, gender, or ethnicity, or even any other factor that does not relate directly to professional or academic performance. However, throughout the history of the United States, and even today, people are judged on these criteria, even at an unconscious level. At the founding of the United States, white men had the social and economic advantage, and enjoyed numerous rights and opportunities that women or other minority groups did not possess. Fast forward to today, the balance of social and economic advantage still tips in the favor of Caucasian males. At the end of the 20th century, 31% of white males held professional jobs compared to the meager 16% of African Americans according to aclu.org. Another thing to consider is based on statistics done by Cornell University, women own 39% of contracting firms, however only less than 3% of federal contracts go to firms owned by women, and then less than 10% of state contracting dollars end up to their…

    • 801 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Affirmative action is clearly favoring minority groups, and giving them an undeserved advantage. An example of this discrimination is clear, a statistic from the New York Times shows that after affirmative action was banned in California, the number of Hispanics and blacks accepted at UC Berkeley, and UC LA dropped sharply. Every time a college bases its decision on who to accept based on race or color, the racial tensions between minorities and majorities will rise in American…

    • 644 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Affirmative Action

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages

    As stated by www.balencedpolitics.org, It demeans true minority achievement; example – Success is labeled as a result of affirmative action rather than hard work and ability. To me this deems so true. When it comes to getting a job, companies should not have to worry about pleasing the laws of this government when it comes to equal rights but instead should give jobs out to the more qualified people. I am not stating at all that all Caucasians are more qualified then African Americans, Hispanics, etc. I just think that the person who's most qualified, regardless of ethnic background or skin color should get the job, end of story. The first time I learned about Affirmative…

    • 790 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    essays

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages

    In my opinion, affirmative action just gets in the way of actual change in the realm of discrimination. Policies that segregate the minority from the majority only widen the gap between the two groups and that is what affirmative action most effectively does. It should be eliminated.…

    • 261 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The argument for affirmative action is pretty simple; people just want a fair chance at obtaining jobs they are qualified for and the chance of going to a school because of their academic abilities. Affirmative action programs were put in place to break down walls within schools, businesses, and organizations and implement opportunities for people that were normally over looked because of race and sexual discrimination. Historical affirmative action cases have proven that there was a huge separation between people because of race and sex. Statistics have also shown that ignoring the problem of discrimination only leads to bigger social problems. The affirmative action programs also wanted compensatory justice, and this is something else that people agreed with. People feel that they did not live their lives to the fullest extend because so many rights, and things were taken away from them and members of their families, so they wanted to be compensated for it. We have to be careful that we do not reverse discrimination to others because of their gender, nationality, or family status, while pushing the point of affirmative action. If a person has never been discriminated against, then it would be hard for them to really understand why affirmative action is so important. History cannot right the wrongs of the past, people just…

    • 1564 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In a country the size of the United States, different races and different views on the equality of each race exist. Affirmative Action was a put in place by the Federal Government to help conserve the protection of rights towards minorities, whether it be determined by race or sex, during the time after the civil war when they people were still being discriminated upon based on these two aspects. Affirmative Action created a situation that allowed minorities a guaranteed spot within a workplace or a school, eliminating racism and allowing the minority to be recognized for its accomplishments. This may not have been the best solution for the problem but at the time it was put in place it was a necessary mean to try and correct an evil. Affirmative Action is still in place today even though it shouldn’t be. It creates discrimination by trying to get rid of it. Administration officers and CEO’s of companies feel the need to fill the percentage that they were given so they turn their backs on more qualified persons. With Affirmative Action, a white man may lose a chance to get a job or go to college, simply because the position must be filled with a black man, to meet the designated quota assigned. Also majorities look down on the minorities who get into colleges and get jobs over them by saying that they only got the job because someone just needed to get the spot filled so that they wouldn’t get shut down. This makes the minority feel worse about themselves because really don’t know if they got into the school or got the job based on their own merits or not. People in todays society want to make the most money possible so they will hire who they believe will do the best job whether it be an African American woman or a middle aged white man. Affirmative Action was a necessary step to correct the wrong doings of our ancestors, but is not the correct solution,…

    • 564 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The affirmative action has served its purpose, and therefore is no longer needed. A lot of people also say that because of the implementation of this law many people who are qualified for a specific position has lost that spot to someone who is…

    • 513 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Affirmative Action - 10

    • 625 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Affirmative action has been used throughout history to decide whether or not "minority" status American citizens should have a voice. Affirmative action refers to an action or policy favoring those who tend to suffer from discrimination in relation to employment, education etc. This topic has been very controversial in both the past and present. It has been commonly used in the college acceptance process in order to include different cultures and ethnicity's into schools. This process should be used, to a degree, to help minorities make better future for themselves. Affirmative action should be used because it gives people or students a better chance to reach their full potential in career, a higher chance of moving out of poverty, it helps liberate them from oppression and gives them a chance to win the race commonly won by the majority.…

    • 625 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Affirmative action works. It gives minorities the opportunity to work in an environment that they may not have been considered for previously. However, it is slowly bringing racism back into the foray again, certainly it is far different from the slave days or the civil rights days but it is there none-the-less. Job and school placement are no longer based strictly on merit. Now within…

    • 1244 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Civil Rights

    • 633 Words
    • 2 Pages

    I am not sure what I think about whether or not Affirmative Action should be abolished. I do believe that we should be doing more to try and improve discrimination. If we didn’t do anything to try and improve discrimination among the educational and job opportunities this world would be run by hateful people. I can understand where people would believe that it is racist towards whites. I don’t believe any type of racism should happen. Affirmative Action is for all minorities, not just for blacks, Hispanics, etc. This includes whites as well.…

    • 633 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Affirmative action is a controversial topic topic, especially in American society. Affirmative action is an active effort to improve the employment or education opportunities of members of minority groups and women. It also means a similar effort to promote the rights of other disadvantaged persons. In America, affirmative action is for a disadvantaged group to have equal opportunities, regardless of: race, religion/creed, sex, national origin, and disability (OFCCP). Many surround the words affirmative action around race, but socioeconomic status, gender, and various other background characteristics play a role. These factors and more especially in the realm of education. Affirmative action is beneficial due to its history and who it affects.…

    • 1385 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Proxy War

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages

    While this practice is meant to support individuals, it is resulting in it being solely based on race. Imagine this hypothetical scenario, a white person,applying for a job, lived in poverty his whole life, worked multiple jobs to support their mom’s drug addiction and the care of four siblings. Then here comes a latino man applying for the same job, who grew up wealthy his entire life, and has had an easy life and lands the position strictly because he is Latino. By means of affirmative action, you assume that minorities are the disadvantage ones, aren't you racially profiling them? When the black guy has…

    • 528 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays