For all intents and purposes I have
never really batted an eyelash over affirmative action which is “designed as temporary measures to increase the employment
and educational opportunities available to qualified women and minorities by
giving them preference in hiring, promotion, and admission” (Andre, Velasquez,
& Mazur, n.d., para. 2). I inherently support this action. I
am a female so I suppose that technically that I could be included in the scope
of special consideration, though I cannot say that I have ever directly
benefited personally. Maybe I have and I do not even know it. Ultimately I take
no issue with it, but the real question is whether affirmative action is
ethical? Ethics is centered on what we ought to do when trying to determine if
something is right or wrong (LaFollette, 2007). There has been so much
controversy about affirmative action and I wonder if it is misunderstood? Is it fair? Is it keeping us all from being
equal by single out groups for special consideration? Or is it actually helping
with equality and opportunity when it otherwise would not have been given?
If I were to solely base my
understanding of affirmative action on the LaFollette text I may not have a
particularly positive outlook on this topic. While I think his writings were
well intentioned, I feel his stance was filled with inflammatory examples
riddled with logical fallacy and parallel mistakes in reasoning. One of the
main sticking points was that while his definition did include that it is meant
to assist minorities and women LaFollette only focuses on African-Americans and
goes on to say that if affirmative action can be justified they would be the
most deserving recipients (2007). No further indication is made about other
minority groups or women and does not include the historical benefits or any
arguments that have been made for each. While including each may have made for
a longer or even a second chapter, it paints a wholly incomplete picture of
affirmative action.
In terms of LaFollette, the focus is
rather singular and presents arguments that have been made against affirmative
action such as that it is reverse discrimination, it hurts those who have done
no wrong, sheds lights on the argument regarding qualification, that
affirmative action stigmatizes black, and it minimizes the rights of employers.
Arguments for affirmative action include that we still face continuing racism,
though it is veiled and indirect in its form today and that there should be
equality for opportunity (LaFollette, 2007). Other assorted arguments for
affirmative action are tucked into the responses of the arguments against it,
such as whites are not thought to be inferior to blacks, white men have never
been discriminated against so even in reverse it is not tantamount to what
blacks have faced so it does not count as much, and that whites owe blacks
punitive damages for that was done by our ancestors so that while we did not do
the damage ourselves, we still reap the benefits from generation to generation
(LaFollette, 2007). I simply cannot wrap my mind around these comments and my
felt sense tells me that they may not be ethical, but one man’s opinion should
not color this entire issue of inquiry into affirmative action and the
determination if it is ethical. Frankly it is a distorted generalized statement
to make about one group or another.
My main concern that I have with most
things is that I would like to see true equality in the world. I have come to
find that not everyone has an ever inquisitive mind and fact checks multiple
sources and dissenting opinions, evaluate them critically and then makes up
their mind when they encounter the unknown. If we hear something we tend to
take it at face value and this is what makes me feel that affirmative action
will continue to be misunderstood. Through misunderstanding is more prejudice
being developed? According to Plous (2003) there is a myth about combating
discrimination with discrimination and that “the problem with this myth is that
it uses the same word -- discrimination -- to describe two very different
things. Job discrimination is grounded in prejudice and exclusion, whereas
affirmative action is an effort to overcome prejudicial treatment through
inclusion. The most effective way to cure society of exclusionary practices is
to make special efforts at inclusion, which is exactly what affirmative action
does” (para. 8). While that is the aim, I am not assured that it prevents it
from being misunderstood. In my opinion, that is a problem. A problem for the
aim and a problem for society.
Another argument is that if we stop
viewing each other in terms of differences we can prevent racism and there
would no longer be a need for affirmative action that we could all just be as
equals. This is called colorblindness. While this statement sounds intuitively
plausible, the reality is that color-blind policies often put racial minorities
at a disadvantage (Plous, 2003). “Unless preexisting inequities are corrected
or otherwise taken into account, color-blind policies do not correct racial
injustice -- they reinforce it” (Plous, 2003, para. 2). Although En Vogue made
a compelling song, “Free Your Mind” that sings ”Free your mind and the rest
will follow, be colorblind, don’t be so shallow” where I feel this really is the
ultimate goal, regardless we still have to remain cognizant in order not to have an out of
sight, out of mind mentality. When we hurt one group, or two groups, we are
overall hurting each other and ourselves.
The bottom line is that ethically, I believe
that if you see something then you need to do something. That is exactly the
intent of affirmative action. There is still a lot of wrong and we should do
something about it. While it seems like we are starting to come a long way to
become open and civic minded, there are still heinous instances occurring every
day to discriminate against others. This means that this is everyone’s problem
and we all need to do our part to coexist and that means that everyone deserves
equal opportunities.
References:
Andre, C., Velasquez, M., & Mazur, T. (n.d.).
Affirmative Action: Twenty-five Years of Controversy. Retrieved April 18, 2015,
from http://www.scu.edu/ethics/publications/iie/v5n2/affirmative.html
LaFollette,
H. (2007). The Practice of Ethics. Malden, MA; Blackwell Publishing
Plous,
S. (2003). UnderstandingPrejudice.org: Ten Myths About Affirmative Action.
Retrieved April 18, 2015, from http://www.understandingprejudice.org/readroom/articles/affirm.htm
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