Changes

The law of the United States is non-discrimination: the concept that race, sex, ethnicity, skin color, or country of national origin are not criteria which should be used in job selection, education opportunities, etc.  The original concept of affirmative action was that it is desirable to not merely act on non-discrimination passively (i.e., saying "this job is open to any applicant", but then making no efforts to find minority applicants), but should also be done ''affirmatively'', by taking definite actions to find applicants from minorities.  This would be, in its way, admirable.   

The law of the United States is non-discrimination: the concept that race, sex, ethnicity, skin color, or country of national origin are not criteria which should be used in job selection, education opportunities, etc.  The original concept of affirmative action was that it is desirable to not merely act on non-discrimination passively (i.e., saying "this job is open to any applicant", but then making no efforts to find minority applicants), but should also be done ''affirmatively'', by taking definite actions to find applicants from minorities.  This would be, in its way, admirable.   

However, in current use, affirmative action goes beyond this, often mandating the use of quotas for setting aside jobs or a portion of college entrance positions for each minority (including also some "minorities" which are actually majorities).  In effect, this means selecting applicants by the color of their skin, precisely what the original concept of non-discrimination forbids.  This is sometimes called "reverse discrimination," although this term is rather contradictory-- discrimination remains discrimination.

However, in current use, affirmative action goes beyond this, often mandating the use of quotas for setting aside jobs or a portion of college entrance positions for each minority (including also some "minorities" which are actually majorities).  In effect, this means selecting applicants by the color of their skin, precisely what the original concept of non-discrimination forbids.  This is sometimes called "reverse discrimination," although this term is rather contradictory-- discrimination remains discrimination.  

In short, "affirmative action" is an action that had an admirable origin, but has been taken to the point where it enforces the very discrimination that it had been intended to prevent. {{fact-political}}

Luckily, Mr. Justice Powell concluded in Regents of the University Of California v. Bakke that

<ref>"Racial and ethnic classifications of any sort are inherently suspect and call for the most exacting judicial scrutiny. While the goal of achieving a diverse student body is sufficiently compelling to justify consideration of race in admissions decisions under some circumstances, petitioner's special admissions program, which forecloses consideration to persons like respondent, is unnecessary to the achievement of this compelling goal and therefore invalid under the Equal Protection Clause."</ref>

 

Bakke effectively outlawed this "sometimes called 'reverse discrimination.'"

[[Category:Politics]]

[[Category:Politics]]

[[Category:United States law]]

[[Category:United States law]]