Action Words Everyone Has An Opinion On Affirmative Action; Here Is Your Chance To Learn More About It And Its Effects
Is it reasonable to assume that 30 years of remedial policies can erase the legacy of over 350 years of racial oppresssion in this country? That discrimination against African-Americans is largely a thing of the past and that the new victims are white men, left behind while unqualified blacks take “their” jobs, promotions, and children’s scholarships due to affirmative action? Or is this world view flawed? Does it ignore the degree to which whites - particularly white males - enjoy untold privileges due, not to merit, but rather to advantages which stem from the “old boys’ network,” and ongoing discrimination, overt and subtle, against people of color? …
Myth No. 1: Affirmative Action Violates Color-Blind Meritocracy
The main objection to affirmative action is that it violates the notion that jobs and college slots should go to the most qualified applicants.
…Hiring and promotion have never hinged exclusively on merit. The best jobs are usually not advertised. Most often they are filled through networks of friends and associates which work to the exclusion of minority groups.
…The same is true of government contracts. [Opponents] argue that contracts should be awarded purely based on the lowest bid. Yet contracts have traditonally been awarded through networks in which lobbyists spend millions to influence public investment decisions.
Myth No. 2: Whites Are The Victims Of Massive Reverse Discrimination
…In responding to the notion that white men are the new victims of discrimination against, they can go to court like anyone else and make their claim. Despite this legal avenue, few claims of reverse discrimination are filed, let alone proven to have merit.
…And if minorities receive so much preferential treatment, and whites are the victims of such unbearable discrimination, then: Why are black and Latino unemployment rates twice as high as the white rate, and black and Latino poverty rates two-and-a-half times higher than the white rate?
Why are whties 50 percent more likely than blacks…to hold professional and managerial jobs, while they are nearly two times less likely to hold service-sector jobs? Why does the average white high school dropout earn approximately much as a black male with two years of college?
…If [people of color] are reaping the benefits of a vast, iniquitous system of racial preference, one can only wonder where said benefits are hiding.
Myth No. 3: Affirmative Action Damages Black Self-Esteem
Affirmative action, according to these arguments, does so much damage to its recipients - by implying they can’t make it on their own - and increases racial tension so badly, that to continue these policies will do more harm than good.
…As with the other positions against affirmative action, there are numerous flaws with this logic. Firstly, why would the damage to self-esteem from affirmative action - which at least increases the chance for blacks to have decent jobs - be greater or of more concern than damage caused by the ever-present phenomenon of old-fashioned discrimination, which prevents people from working? Are we really to believe that a person’s self-esteem is made stronger by unemployment and suffering than by being able to feed his or her children?
…And if blacks are damaged by [unearned privilaege], shouldn’t the same damage extend to whites, who have continuously received privileges and opportunities due to racial discrimination on their behalf?
Myth No. 4: Affirmative Action Is The Cause of Increased Racial Tension
Bottom line: affirmative action does not create racial tension, let alone acts of racial violence. …People don’t burn crosses on fraternity lawns because they’re upset about blacks getting into good colleges despite lower S.A.T. scores…It is racism itself that makes individuals commit these acts. One can only assume that the presence of minorities is what angers them, qualifications notwithstanding.
Affirmative action has the potential to reduce tension and prejudice among whites. By allowing qualified people of color to advance in business and academia, affirmative action mitigates the impression that only whites are capable of governing, leading or exercising power.
MEMO: These sidebars appeared with the story: HEAR THE EXPERTS You are invited to a community dialogue on affirmative action this Wednesday, Nov. 20 at 4:30 p.m. featuring Tim Wise, a New Orleans-based political analyst and writer specializing in race relations and the politics of the far right. This free program will take place at the Joint Center for Higher Education, 668 N. Riverpoint Blvd. and will include responses from three panelists with varied opinions on affirmative action: Mike Fitzsimmons, KXLY radio commentator; Jim Medina, director the Washington State Office of Minority and Women Business Enterprises; and Bill Sterling, an affirmative action officer for the Department of Social and Health Services. Spokesman-Review staff writer Elana Ashanti Jefferson will moderate the discussion. Tim Wise’s visit is part of a week-long Washington tour. On Tuesday, he’ll speak at Yakima Valley college and the University of Washington. In addition to his Wednesday visit to Spokane, Wise will talk at Washington State University. On Thursday, he’ll visit Evergreen State College. And on Friday Wise will attend the statewide affirmative action and equal opportunity officers ‘3 quarterly meeting. For more information call (509) 625-6233.
OTHER VOICES “Tom Stewart’s small firm has installed highway signs and guardrails in Spokane and across the state for the better part of three decades. But time after time, while pursuing business, he has run into roadblocks. Since 1981, Stewart’s Spokane firm has submitted the lowest bids for dozens of projects, but lost the contracts because of his color. Stewart is white. …In each case, the contract was awarded to a minority- or woman-owned firm that submitted a higher bid. And in each case, the general contractors cited federal laws requiring them to award a certain percentage of construction contracts to women and minorities. Stewart calls it racial discrimination. The federal government calls it affirmative action.” David A. Lieb Staff writer The Spokesman-Review Sept. 23, 1995
“…Affirmative action lowers self-esteem because such mandated programs say to the person on the receiving end, ‘You can’t do it on your own, so the government will do it for you. …You will never be required to be good enough to meet any standard.’ Affirmative action has helped divide and polarize the nation along racial and gender lines.” Columnist Cal Thomas Aug. 27, 1995
” ‘Now the campaign begins,’ said Ward Connerly, chairman of the drive to repeal race and gender preferences in California state programs. ‘We will not be victims of racial or gender preferences,’ said Connerly, who is black.’ ” Member of the University of California Board of Regents Feb. 22, 1996
“There is absolutely nothing preventing blacks, Hispanics or women from competing in a free market. If their abilities and efforts are equal or superior, they will advance. If those efforts or abilities prove inferior and they do not progress, the obvious remedy is to work hard and strive to improve. Should affirmative action be curtailed or abolished? Nothing could better advance the cause of minorities.” Leonard M. Melman Spokane County Libertarian Party Letter to the editor June 6, 1995
“Do I think affirmative action is racist? You’re damn right I do! It is very racist to tell an 11-year-old black child that no matter how hard she tries, no matter how hard she studies, she can never keep up with white people without the governments’s help.” Shawn Dawley Letter to the editor March 3, 1995
OTHER VOICES “Tom Stewart’s small firm has installed highway signs and guardrails in Spokane and across the state for the better part of three decades. But time after time, while pursuing business, he has run into roadblocks. Since 1981, Stewart’s Spokane firm has submitted the lowest bids for dozens of projects, but lost the contracts because of his color. Stewart is white. …In each case, the contract was awarded to a minority- or woman-owned firm that submitted a higher bid. And in each case, the general contractors cited federal laws requiring them to award a certain percentage of construction contracts to women and minorities. Stewart calls it racial discrimination. The federal government calls it affirmative action.” David A. Lieb Staff writer The Spokesman-Review Sept. 23, 1995
“…Affirmative action lowers self-esteem because such mandated programs say to the person on the receiving end, ‘You can’t do it on your own, so the government will do it for you. …You will never be required to be good enough to meet any standard.’ Affirmative action has helped divide and polarize the nation along racial and gender lines.” Columnist Cal Thomas Aug. 27, 1995
” ‘Now the campaign begins,’ said Ward Connerly, chairman of the drive to repeal race and gender preferences in California state programs. ‘We will not be victims of racial or gender preferences,’ said Connerly, who is black.’ ” Member of the University of California Board of Regents Feb. 22, 1996
“There is absolutely nothing preventing blacks, Hispanics or women from competing in a free market. If their abilities and efforts are equal or superior, they will advance. If those efforts or abilities prove inferior and they do not progress, the obvious remedy is to work hard and strive to improve. Should affirmative action be curtailed or abolished? Nothing could better advance the cause of minorities.” Leonard M. Melman Spokane County Libertarian Party Letter to the editor June 6, 1995
“Do I think affirmative action is racist? You’re damn right I do! It is very racist to tell an 11-year-old black child that no matter how hard she tries, no matter how hard she studies, she can never keep up with white people without the governments’s help.” Shawn Dawley Letter to the editor March 3, 1995