Benny is explaining it far better than I have. I'm fine with the goals and ideals of stated affirmative action. The problem lies in RL practical application. Schools, Business, and people twist the definition of merit to their own. A school gets sponsorship from sports so it behaves them to have good sports members. Should this increase the weight of a players application? Well they're being self-seeking but that's not necessarily bad and I'm actually OK with this kind of wiggle room. The problem in this is that if 2 equally skillful players are differing races, why would the minority skin tone have more value?
Case in point, I've been a part of the hiring process at some places I worked. When the boss hands you a stack in a specific order, then tells you to just make sure the top 3 are good enough but interview everyone, then that's discrimination, not equal opportunity or affirmative action. Affirmative action breaks in practice because if you don't have proper definitions and limits in place, you're just combating discrimination with discrimination with discrimination, intolerance with intolerance, bigotry with bigotry.
Race, culture, sex alone shouldn't be determining factors because their merit (while adding to diversity of types of people) doesn't actually add diversity to opinion and skillsets, which I believe is the goal.
Case in point, I've been a part of the hiring process at some places I worked. When the boss hands you a stack in a specific order, then tells you to just make sure the top 3 are good enough but interview everyone, then that's discrimination, not equal opportunity or affirmative action. Affirmative action breaks in practice because if you don't have proper definitions and limits in place, you're just combating discrimination with discrimination with discrimination, intolerance with intolerance, bigotry with bigotry.
Race, culture, sex alone shouldn't be determining factors because their merit (while adding to diversity of types of people) doesn't actually add diversity to opinion and skillsets, which I believe is the goal.
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post
always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
