A Foregone Conclusion: The Debate on Affirmative Action Part 1

I tried to run, avoid, hide, deny. I tried to pretend that I had no opinion, lacked the prerequisite familiarity with the topic (which in many ways I do), didn’t have the time to get into a lengthy debate. But it was inevitable. The discussion started by a seemingly innocuous statement: “If there were two candidates who had the same stances on the issues, and were of equal ability, yet one was a white male and the other was female or a minority race, I would vote for the woman or the minority,” has fermented beyond Zizzle-Zot, etc.’s ability to contain.

Now let me tell you why I think Affirmative Action is absolutely necessary in theory (Part 1), and a colossal failure in reality (Part 2).

Before we start, I’m hoping we can make a pact together. I think we’ll all acknowledge that racism is still very much alive in this country. It’s embedded in societal structure and the paradigms of older generations. Police are more likely to pull over minority drivers, aspiring business people need to work much harder to win the respect of employers if they aren’t white males, and young minorities still deal with suspicious glares wherever they go. Institutional racism is real.

That said, I realize this topic can be touchy. I plan on having the utmost respect for the issue, and I know you all will do the same. Let the debate begin.

Society is dying. Young people are being killed or imprisoned at alarming rates. The family structure is a distant memory. Homelessness is at an all-time high. And minorities are overwhelmingly the victims. 69% of African American babies are born out of wedlock. 45% of African American households lack a father figure. Homicide is the leading cause of death for African American men between the ages of 15 and 34. There are more African American men in jail than there are in college. Depending on the study, anywhere between 10-15% of the male African American population between the ages of 20 and 34 is incarcerated (this high rate is a confluence of two factors: a crime-glorifying culture and historically harsher prosecution for African American offenders).

This is the sad reality. African American children are overwhelmingly born into poverty, abandoned by their fathers, and ushered at a young age into a world of violence, crime, and survivalism. Because of broken homes they are forced to take on responsibilities a child should never need to. They face fear on a daily basis. Fear of violence and abandonment, yes. But also more basic fears of “when will I next eat?”

We’ll all acknowledge that a child born into such difficult circumstances has less opportunity to succeed. Through no fault of their own they have been relegated to a life of hardship, knocked down before they could stand, deemed a failure without ever having a chance.

Programs like Affirmative Action have the potential to turn this around. By enabling young men and women to seek an education, Affirmative Action allows people oppressed since birth to finally determine their own destiny. By escaping oppression and succeeding in life, these young men and women will go on to serve as inspiration for future generations, creating a cycle of aspiration and hope to replace the cycle of poverty and violence.

Affirmative Action can save America. But will it?

Thanks for reading.

Note: I realize this was brief. It would be impossible to cover the entire issue in one post, but I’m hoping this will serve as a springboard for further discussion. Also, I commented again on yesterday’s post. I’d be interested in hearing everyone’s thoughts.