If you’re white, don’t bother applying.
That’s the message implied for years at the bottom of applications for colleges, scholarships, grants, government and other positions thanks to Affirmative Action.
But Affirmative Action in Arizona may be finally going where it belongs: down the toilet.
An initiative slated for the state’s 2010 general election ballot will get rid of “discrimination against – or preferential treatment for – any individual on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity or national origin.” Both the state Senate and House of Representatives passed legislation to make this initiative a reality.
It’s about time.
“We are giving Arizonans an opportunity to tell our government to end this form of legalized discrimination once and for all,” said Chair of the Arizona Civil Rights Initiative Rachel Alexander in a June 22 news release announcing the Senate’s passage of the legislation.
While Affirmative Action may have started with good intentions, as did paving the road to hell, it ended up as simple discrimination against anyone who was not in the targeted groups needed to fill the quota.
Those “anyones” were usually white males, followed closely by white females and then all others in a group that numbered more than five.
“We’d let you into the program, but we first have to fill our quota for Aboriginal Polish Mexican women who were descended from Irish roots and have lived in Cambodia for at least two years.”
Not once has the fine print stated that preferential treatment should be given to weird female artists with short red hair.
So to heck with the whole concept.
If everyone is truly created equal, then let them compete equally and the best man – or woman – win, regardless of race, gender, religion, height, shoe size and yes, even haircut and color.
What do you think?
Have you been discriminated against thanks to “Affirmative Action”?
What happened? Did it make you beat someone up?
Mornin’ Rynski! MLK said a man(woman) should be judged on the content of his character, not the color of his skin. Our legislators should be so wise. Looks like they are finally waking up. Excellent article.(your gonna catch some heat on this one). Bravo!
Mornin’ Rad Max!
MLK was definitely on the right track. Which is why he was killed. Notice lots of people with great ideas end up dead? A shame.
Thanks for the bravo. I’ll take the heat – I can fight back with my RYNchimes until Saturday….
Affirmative Action and other similar programs are useful IMO in offsetting white privilege. Arguments of reverse discrimination serve the purpose of maintaining white privilege and proponents of anti-AA referenda play to white fears of loss of privilege. Some may deny white privilege exists is this day. This phenomenon is similar to one walking into a room and noticing a peculiar odor. At first, it is quite noticable, but after a few minutes, it becomes part of the norm and you can’t smell it anymore unless you concentrate.
Look around you, how do you explain the decidedly unequal representation of minority groups in the ranks of the impoverished, imprisoned and uneducated? The usual reactionary response is to blame it on “poor personal choices” so as to avoid the fact that equal opportunity is still elusive in this country.
I would be willing to accept the elimination of AA programs on the basis of their shortcomings (and they do have shortcomings) if the right wing had any intent to serve the same end of promoting equality of opportunity in this country, but they don’t. They are not advocating an end to these programs to serve the pursuit of equality; rather to maintain inequality.
Thanks for your take, Leftfield, and the food for thought.
Any thought on what WOULD work since Afiirm. Action jazz doesn’t?
Any other thoughts on how we could add “redheaded artists” into those who become better represented? haha.
Red headed women are bad luck! dye it toots!
ha!
Red headed women were only bad luck when serial killer Glen Rogers was on the loose targeting them. Last I heard this “Cross Country Killer” was still languishing on death row in Florida…
Thank you Ryn, for having the courage to go against the racists who implemented this, and writing about it. On four differant occasions I was denied employment even though I scored higher than the “minority” applicants because I am White and male. If you are the most qualified applicant for a job you should be the one who gets it based on your abilities not your skin color/gender.
You hit this one out of the park!
Honestly? I don’t believe you.
Good, then don’t. 3 of them were federal jobs and 1 was state. I was told to my face at the interview that because of AA they were forced to hire a minority to fill “quotas” and sorry but that’s the way it is. Even with a veterans preferance (yes I am) it was not enough to overcome the point advantage given to blacks and Indians. Believe what you want till you have walked in my shoes.
Dear Ryn;
“That’s the message inferred for years at the bottom of applications for colleges,” Could you possible have meant “implied?”
Apart from the grammatical snark I have to say I agree with Leftfield. Affirmative Action legislation of some sort is necessary to assure that applicants for jobs are
judged purely on their merit. Without some such legislation it is too easy for employers to slip back into old habits.
hmmm….
From the trusty online thesaurus:
“a speaker or writer implies, a hearer or reader infers, and implications are incorporated in statements while inferences are deduced from statements…”
You’re right. Let’s throw it back at the person who wrote the policy, rather than the one reading the application.
Will change it.
…and I am still curious as to what WOULD work, then, to level the playing field?
I agree with you up to a point Lefty. Rynski correctly points out in her article that while AA had a noble purpose at it’s inception, it has been used as a way to discriminate against much more qualified folks. Similar to the firefighters who were denied promotion because not enough minorities had passed the test. Get a clue people. If you want to get ahead work harder than the next guy!
Hey Rynski, they have computers in the GJ assembly room. Leftfield, I’m watchin’ you… 🙂
agree with leftfield. AA is problematic but the problem of bias persists when applications are simply thrown in a trash can for having a name that sounds \too ethnic\ or \too old\ (agism), etc. and anyone pretending this doesn’t happen is in denial.
I think Romeo raises a valid question based on his experience – that is, how to promote equality of opportunity across society as a whole while avoiding having the burden of the effort fall upon individuals?
I can’t pretend to be the brilliant mind who could offer a solution acceptable to all parties; would that I could. IMO though, we have a long row to hoe. America was conceived and bred in racism and inequality and, while the more obvious manifestations of this have left the landscape, it is something we still struggle with today.
I don’t think my opinion on the solution is going to be well received, but perhaps people can offer their own suggestions re: replacement programs for AA. I believe that racism and inequality, like imperialism, are inherent to capitalism. Thus, the final solution exists in alternatives to the capitalist model. That said, efforts to housebreak the beast that is unrestrained capitalism will be of benefit in the meantime. Specifically, we have to pay more attention and put more effort towards the welfare of the people than we do towards the welfare of capital.
While you make some very good points Lefty, I take exception to your premise that our country was established to further European racism and class discrimination. Last time I checked, our forefathers were fleeing persecution of one form or another. That we reverted to the very evils we wrote the Constitution and Declaration of Independence to safeguard against only shows that people need to be reminded constantly that freedom is not free. Don’t get me started on Hernan Cortes, hopefully you don’t consider that butcher a US founding father.
No, that was not my intended message. Still, the American revolution was essentially a struggle between the American bourgeosie and the English bourgeosie.
They weren’t the ones freezing at Valley Forge or dying at Lexington and Concord. Overwhelmingly your precious proletariat class.
I am not a fan of affirmative action, but the language passed through the State does not contain any protections against dicrimination based on sexual orientation or religious affiliation, both of which are exploited now. If they’re going to do this, they need to do it completely, not in the same half-baked manner they do everything else.
You might be interested to know that in 30 states it is quite legal still to fire someone based only on their being homosexual. In 38 states, it is still not discriminatory to fire someone because they are transgendered.
Although it IS against the law in Tucson.
So, if men and/or white people are being discriminated against now, and affirmative action is no longer needed, can you explain why exactly women and/or people of color are less employed than white men?
Didn’t think so.
Simple, they are taken care of by “the man” in the form of handouts, no inclination to work, think so?
So what you’re saying then, Romeo, is that women and people of color are inherently lazy? I’ll pass that on to all the people of color I see toiling in the gardens and yards of Tucson today and see how it flies.
It’s another right wing fantasy that there are still people out there cashing welfare checks, drinking beer, watching their big screen TV’s and just living the life of Reilly on their tax money. It supports the self-serving notion that the kindest thing you can do for the disadvantaged is nothing, because it only makes them lazy if you help them. And we can’t have “our” people of color gettin’ lazy, can we?
Ah yes the old “right wing fantasy” line, good for any comment. What I am saying is go to a DES office and look around with your rose colored glasses on. Google the percentage of minorities and single women collecting bennies such as housing, welfare, school tuition etc as opposed to single white men. You can call them disadvantaged, I’ll call them lazy. From each according to his ability, To each according to his need eh Kommissar? Have a nice evening.
Dammit Romeo! I was gonna use that uncle Karl line on him. Classic example of commie doublespeak. Sorry to hear about being ‘held back by the man’, this crap has got to stop. Saw this in the Navy somewhat back in the 80’s. Alot more relevent then than it is now. Hang in there bud.
I was told the same thing. (2)Feds (1) state. You are a white male and will not be hired for the next 10 years. BS since I worked my way thru SHSU for a CJ degree. I still get calls from the CJ department wanting me to come back and throw more money in the toilet taking more programs. I do get a very good laugh when local officials get caught selling drugs and stealing from their dept. Serves them right for not hiring the most qualified.