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... s have helped. Without some intervention of the government to install affirmative action programs Ms. Mitchell and many others would be without jobs. Not only minorities support affirmative action. White people support it as well.
Although it may seem selfish, the white supporters are looking out for themselves. John Zipperer explains, "In twenty to thirty years, these [minorities] are the people who are going to be paying for social security. If they don't get the training and the education, how are we going to pay for others' retirement and the national debt? (Zip 43) Whatever the reason behind it, whites are beginning to support affirmative action in large numbers. Most people who are against the idea of affirmative action are the ones that it will hurt the most: white men. It seems that whites are afraid that the minorities that affirmative action is helping will take the jobs that they believe are theirs. For whites there is a feeling that it will hurt more than it will help.
One way that it will hurt more than it will help is that it will cause tension between the races. John Zipperer gives his feelings on the tension of the races, in understanding the racial divide in America; the role of the historic social divide between the races cannot be underestimated. "We " ve done a very efficient job of separating ourselves along racial lines, " says [Spencer] Perkins who also serves as editor of Urban Family magazine in Jackson Mississippi. "You might bump into each other in the workplace, but anything private tends to be [split] along racial lines. " (Zip 43) Our country is very separate right now and anything that could separate it even more could be suicide. As of now, in many cities across America there is a feeling of unrest between black and white communities. Glynn Custred, a California professor says, "The policies that we have today are pervasive and are spreading everywhere. They are weakening our institutions, and they cause a stigma for those who are supposed to be helped by it. " (Zip 44) It becomes an impossible battle to differentiate between affirmative action and reverse discrimination. Just like whatever goes up comes down and whenever there is an action there is always an opposite reaction, whenever someone gets a job at the expense of someone else there is going to be someone who has to suffer.
Although affirmative action would be very beneficial to them, there are some minorities that refuse to accept what affirmative action programs have to offer. It may be because of the fact that minorities have overcome so much in the past such as slavery and the women's movement. (Rosen 110) It seems that some minorities take exception at being seen as "charity cases. " Ms. Leigh Fulwood, a lawyer at The Regional Legal Counsel in Seattle is one woman in particular who says she would take offense to being "given" a job through affirmative action. She states, I would be mortified if I thought somebody hired me because I'm female. I'm a bike racer- I race against men and women- and if I pulled up to the starting line and they said, "Well, Leigh, why don't you go ahead and get a two or three minute start on everybody, " that would not be the point. The whole point is to race with the pack, to perform at the level, to go at their speed, to learn the pack dynamic.
I want to be an athlete out there. And you know what? I am. They don't cut me any slack because I'm female. Ms Fulwood also states that she also believes that the way you are treated in the workplace is based on how you perceive yourself. She says, I know it sounds naive, but it never occurred to me that my gender was an issue, much less a problem.
It really has never been one to me, and therefore I don't think it's been one to anybody else. Or if it has been, I have, perhaps somewhat deliberately, chosen to ignore that. I think we bring on our treatment, to a great extent, with our expectations. (Jones 46) To an extent Ms. Fulwood may be right. If one has self-confidence he or she will usually be treated with a greater amount of respect. The consequences of affirmative action vary depending on the situation.
In some cases affirmative action can help those who need it. It helps those who are in tough situations by being classified as minorities. In other aspects it hurts the white male who has spent long tedious hours learning a trade (as the minority has in most cases) in which he may never find a job to show off his skills. The courts are now recognizing affirmative action as a source of reverse discrimination. In April, the U. S.
Supreme Court made verdicts on two racially charged court decisions. John Zipperer reports, "In one verdict, a judge voided a quota for black Birmingham firefighters, designed to increase promotions. In the second case, a jury handed out a damage award of $ 425, 000 to a white Pennsylvania engineer who was passed over for promotion in favor of a less-qualified black man. " (Zip 42) Affirmative Action is an issue that is very controversial in America right now. White America and the minorities are at deadlock in agreeing on what they feel is right. Unfortunately, an entire country cannot come to an agreement because we are so diversified. Although there are many who disagree about whether or not giving minorities a slight advantage is just, we can all agree that there is a too much prejudice and hatred in America today.
Because of the horrid history of this nation, the disgust directed at "White America" is not surprising, however, it does seem surprising to many Americans that there are minorities who are against affirmative action. This country, whether we will admit it or not, was built on the blood and sweat of minorities. Therefore it should not be unexpected that minorities would like a fair share of what this country has the to offer. If this happens, maybe minorities will someday have the opportunity to walk our "streets of gold, " and live the American dream. All that being said Affirmative Action is something that cannot and will not be solved inside the pages of an eight-page college English paper or even by our countries highest elected officials. I think of our highest elected officials as just that most of the time high, and the true answer as to what is fair will never come from a government by the people.
for the people and to screw the people. I feel Affirmative Action is highly outdated as we are now dealing with highly educated Blacks, Latinos, and especially Women. Quotas that demand an employer hire a certain percentage of its workforce to be specifically one color or gender are blasphemous. To think of old whitey, sitting on his high pedestal and not hiring blacks because he thinks they are stupid is even crazier. Blacks own businesses, are CEOs, managers and personnel directors. Women are even more so active in workplace decisions, Fortune five hundred companies such as WWFE (World Wrestling Federation And the XFL) are run by women like Linda McMahon (CEO) and Stephanie McMahon (Chief Accounting Executive).
The people whom believe we have to provide special help simply for them to obtain a job are in some cases cut from the same cloth as the person responsible to give the company a yes or no as whether or not to hire the minority. I believe a portion of minorities are quick to forget where they came from, and that is the only reason Affirmative Action still exists. However I truly believe women remember the hard and torturous road they were forced to travel to get ahead in what used to be a mans world. (By that I mean the workplace) I believe and I really mean this that, women as opposed to other minorities such as Blacks and Hispanic males look out for each other but not to the point of hiring under qualified workers. I believe the real problem exists with black and Hispanic males. The underlining problem is even when they are in a position of management they do little or nothing to help solve this problem. I believe when the average person thinks of affirmative action they think of white vs.
black and men vs. women. That is the old school, twenty-first century Affirmative Action is Black vs. Black, Hispanic vs.
Hispanic and where I used to be vs. where you are. It is only after the minorities themselves remember when they were given the chance to prove that merit not color or gender is what truly matters and they hold the power in their hands. Whether those hands are black, brown or perfectly manicured. Bibliography:
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Research essay sample on Affirmative Action Programs Reverse Discrimination
