Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83; site unc.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!bonnie!akgua!mcnc!unc!fsks From: fsks@unc.UUCP (Frank Silbermann) Newsgroups: net.politics,net.social,net.women,net.flame Subject: Re: Discrimination and Affirmative Action Message-ID: <266@unc.UUCP> Date: Tue, 21-May-85 14:18:37 EDT Article-I.D.: unc.266 Posted: Tue May 21 14:18:37 1985 Date-Received: Fri, 24-May-85 01:36:54 EDT References: <354@iham1.UUCP> <250@spar.UUCP> Reply-To: fsks@unc.UUCP (Frank Silbermann) Organization: CS Dept., U. of N. Carolina at Chapel Hill Lines: 66 Xref: watmath net.politics:9066 net.social:535 net.women:5205 net.flame:10044 Summary: Fair-minded administrators may go out of their way to seek black candidates (students, employees) as a way to balance the subconsious racism caused by their own hidden predjudices. This is perhaps the only valid rational for affirmative action. The attempt to justify affirmative action as justice for past wrongs fails on two accounts: 1) It fails to compensate those who were most injured, compensating instead those who merely look like the injured parties. 2) It fails to discriminate between those who caused the injury and those who merely resemble the guilty parties. Thus, the ethnic white (Italian, Irish, Jewish, Catholic, Poor) or Asian who suffered similar (if less intense) discrimination suffers further. The new African or Carribean black immigrant receives an undeserved bonus. Even in the best circumstances, affirmative action merely punishes and rewards people for their ancestors' experiences. Thus, ethnic or racial quotas actually increase the net injustice. Furthermore, when affirmative action programs are too blatent, as in the case of racial quotas, disadvantaged poor whites are justifiably outraged, thus becoming a rich recruiting ground for right-wing extremist groups. Blacks, in turn, suffer loss of self-confidence and self-esteem, always doubting their true ability. The American blacks' dilemma goes deeper than poverty. As a group, they suffer from lack of self-confidense -- a feeling that they do not control their own destiny. Programs such as affirmative action not only devisively create resentment; they fail to solve this core problem. Blacks must solve problems such as poverty and unemployment via economic growth from within their own community. What is needed is a new black enterprenurial class. True black power will be created with the rise of black storekeepers and merchants. By starting their own businesses, blacks can create their own opportunities, instead of depending on some white "big daddy" to take care of them. Frank Silbermann In article shor@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (Melinda Shore) writes: >[] >> From: ellis@spar.UUCP (Michael Ellis) >>> Why do *I*, as a white adult male of Northern European descent, have to pay >>> for what *someone else* did more than 200 years ago?... >> >> *You* oughta be grateful for what *you* have received and stop >> complaining. Perhaps it's true that material well being does breed >> GREED. Pity. > >Amen to that. > >One of life's little ironies is that the bozos who oppose affirmative action >on the grounds that it's rewarding {race, gender} rather than skill happen >to be same same bozos unwilling to surrender their white male privilege. > >-- >Melinda Shore >University of Chicago Computation Center