I’ll get right to the point by saying I don’t believe affirmative action or so called “positive discrimination” is the key to giving minority groups in society equal opportunities to succeed. Discrimination is most certainly not the key to solving issues caused by discrimination. Affirmative action almost sounds like a paradox that happens to be true, but this is not the case. The only reason affirmative action was introduced is to give equal opportunities to minority groups that have been discriminated against in the past. I’m totally all for that. But, what I am against, is the fact that the issue of discrimination which we are trying to mend and move away from as a society, is the prescription given to dismantling inequality. With this being said, it must not be mistaken that there are no reasons to take actions to attack discrimination because there is. Discrimination is still happening here and now, and it’s taking opportunities away from people. It would take an ignorant individual to say times of discrimination has passed, but it would take a wise one to say times of affirmative action is over. How is logically possible to stop a problem by creating more of the same problem? I can’t seem to comprehend. Of course, as a young black man, being a part of a group that has once been and continues to be discriminated against, this is not the response expected regarding the topic of affirmative action. But, I must tell, having personally experienced discrimination and racism myself, more discrimination is not the key to creating opportunities for minority group. Affirmative action just creates a roller coaster effect which keeps society going in cycles. Affirmative action is divisive and destructive. All affirmative action does is shifts the groups that are discriminated against from time to time. So, for example, today we know black people are profoundly discriminated against and they are one of the groups that would currently be ‘benefiting’ from affirmative action. But, fast forward 10-12 years from now, the minority group will no longer be Black people or the other minority groups of today, instead it would be Caucasians because they would be one of the groups that are being ‘discriminated’ against today. Then, 20-22 years from now, the focus might shift back to groups like Black and Indigenous people as they would have endured scarcity of opportunities from the time when groups like Caucasians were the ones benefiting. I hope you can see this big picture of an endless cycle of discrimination in society. Affirmative action will be successful in choosing who succeeds on the basis of race and group identity, but it will most certainly not be successful in attacking the main issue it was designed to attack; creating equal opportunities for everyone. So to conclude, I’m all for creating opportunities for minority groups, but I’m totally against affirmative action being the answer. I know, I certainly don’t want opportunities handed to me on the basis of my race or a group I’m a part of. Instead, I want to earn them. So, to attack the issues of discrimination, systematic racism, prejudice, and injustice in our society, we must focus on creating environments filled with love, acceptance, tolerance, diversity, and inclusivity. This is the key to creating equal opportunities for everyone in the educational system, workplaces, and in society as a whole; not affirmative action.
This picture is profoundly important as we see race being the factor that determines who gets opportunities. The will lead to retrogression and reproach thus making the price people like Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks paid to be useless.
Let me know you thoughts in the comments!!
Until Next Time!
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