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From: mom@sftri.UUCP (Mark Modig)
Newsgroups: net.women,net.politics,net.social
Subject: Re: The funny thing about the opponents of AA
Message-ID: <459@sftri.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 16-Jun-85 00:26:06 EDT
Article-I.D.: sftri.459
Posted: Sun Jun 16 00:26:06 1985
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> 
> 
> To all you people out there who oppose AA, on whatever grounds:
> 
> One of these days, it is going to be your lover, or your best friend
> who is turned down, passed over, unhired, etc., on the basis of sex
> or race.
> 
> _You_ may never be discriminated against.   But you do not live in a vacuum.
> 
> Give it some thought, and lets hear the alternatives.

I've already voiced my thoughts several times on this issue-- I
think the problem should be vigorously attacked on an educational
basis.

I have no quarrel with AA, but rather with the implementation currently
in wide use, which focuses a lot on the workplace.  I feel that when
this approach is logically extended, some form of quota system is
unavoidable.  How else are you to measure progress?

I am not even against quotas or goals per se: for example, I would
be much more receptive to the idea that every school in an area
(eventually the entire country) would have to reach a certain
level of competency as demonstrated by test scores (granted, not a
terrific yardstick, but perhaps the best we have at this point?).
Schools doing considerably better than the norm would be studied so
that their methods could be applied at schools doing less well, and
perhaps even teachers could be moved around-- trying to ensure that
all schools give their students an equal education.

This still avoids perhaps the most important part of the problem-- 
individual attitudes.  How these are to be changed (alas-- I can't
agree to brainwashing the whole population) I am really not sure--
it will have to be a grass roots sort of change-- since the change
involves the attitudes of individuals, individuals are going to
have to stand up and fight for their beliefs.

That's about it.

Mark Modig
ihnp4!sftri!mom