Affirmative Action

Affirmative Action:

I personally believe that Affirmative Action must be totally abolished and exposed for what it is through public discussion.

Let's get a few things out of the way right quick. Black is a term used in Canada and Brittain with no connotation of ill-will. African-American means as little to me as German-American means to everyone else. There is no color of lazy, morally corrupt leech that is any worse than any other color (except taupe, I fucking hate taupe).

In the past, American blacks have been given the shaft. Slavery, later being held to different standards constitutionally, and most recently Jim Crow laws all were dispicable excuses for a morally flawed system of consistent degredation and morally corrupt thinking. Other minorities have also faced severe discrimination, but for ease of discussion I will be using the moniker black. Within the discussion of Affirmative Action remember that women, hispanics, indians (woo-woo-woo, not dot), and even eskimoes reap benefits from this system.

Any system which includes/excludes based on the color of one's skin is inherently wrong. If we are striving for a world in which opportunity to succeed/fail is open to anyone we cannot continue an institution which by its very definition favors one to the detriment of another based solely on color.

One very pertinent argument is that having a level playing field is all well and good if everyone starts at the same place. Meaning, if there are 10 runners and each's lane is free from hurdles, yet one gets a 50 yard headstart, the race is still inherently unfair. Historical racism favored whites and held back blacks. If the world were perfectly equal (which I will argue is still not perfectly true) many argue that there will still be inherent inequality due to the head start that families of whites give their now quite well off children. I would be willing to partake in this line of thinking if every white family was successful and every black family were not. Seeing whereas this is not the case, I think I am quite justified in calling Affirmative Action "Bullshit".

For the sake of argument should the child of Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Oprah, Colin Powell, or George Foreman deserve any extra advantage over white children who may have been born to dirt poor white trash? There are still instances of racial prejudice which persist in this world. I will not admit however that the color of one's skin truly holds any individual back in this day and age. Opportunities are absolutely boundless. If, America as a people, prefers to help those who were born to disadvantaged families, we must say that. Don't insult my intelligence by saying that every single black person (woman, hispanic, or Baldwin) automatically has the cards stacked against them, and there is no opportunity for success.

Statistically blacks are the most likely group to be born out of wedlock, in a single parent home, in poverty, or any combination thereof. This family situation is infinitely more detrimental to the child's future than the color of their skin is. In a similar environment a white child has no greater chance of making it in life.

Kids, parents, and society as a whole must be shown again and again how personal decisions can affect their (and their children's) lot in life. Statistically there is no socio-economic level in which hard work is not rewarded with an improving quality of life. Leading a mindless life, disregarding long term consequences, and persuing empty stimulation every second of one's life is equally destructive to those with or without large amount of melanin in one's skin.

If, as a country, we still believe it necessary to help those less well off, we can do so, but leave race the fuck out of it! There are few things I believe as ardently as this: work ethic and self improvement will trump a million times over nearly any stumbling blocks put in one's way.

Brittain is wrestling with this issue as we speak.