Affirmative Action
Affirmative action is an ongoing issue in America. According to MSN Encarta, affirmative action is “policies used in the United States to increase opportunities for minorities by favoring them in hiring and promotion, college admissions, and the awarding of government contracts”. Minorities include any underrepresented group. To people who oppose, affirmative action is to replace the qualified with the unqualified by using quotas. On the other hand, the defenders want to promote diversity and eliminate employment discrimination.
Unfortunately, “affirmative action has come under fire in the courts, mostly because opponents believe that it is a form of reverse discrimination that unfairly penalizes white males for the ‘sins of the past’” (ethnicmajority.com). The opponents are, of course, taking affirmative action to another level. The goal is equal opportunity for women and minorities, not to take jobs away from anyone. The coalitions have formed to stop the inequality and make sure everyone is getting equality of rights and opportunities. Each site gives people a chance to be a part of defending affirmative action. Supporters are even taking election candidates into account. “In any elections, BAMN will consider supporting only those candidates, slates, and parties whose support for affirmative action and the struggle of the new movement for equality is explicit and unequivocal” (bamn.com).
Until now, I didn’t realize the depth of the affirmative action. All I knew was what it stood for and I supported it. Reading the missions and goals, what the opponents believed, and what the coalitions are standing for made me realize it is still a large issue continuing today. I completely support the affirmative action plan. I don’t think that women and minorities should have special privileges. Everyone should have an equal opportunity for everything. What really concerns me is that there is even a problem with admission to colleges. It should not matter what gender or race, everyone should be an equal candidate for admission.