Quote:
Originally Posted by BarryRX
Perhaps, it would give us a little more clarity if we looked at the question another way. What if we asked the question "have you ever benefited from racism?" I think most of us would very quickly say a resounding NO! But is it true? My grandparents emigrated here from Europe about 100 years ago. I doubt if they would have been allowed to emigrate here if they were black. Remember for how many years we had the "Chinese Exclusion Act" which prohibited any Chinese people from coming here. How about getting an education? Did any of your ancestors benefit from an education that was totally unavailable to black people? Remember, the integration of most schools just happened about 50 years ago. How about getting a job? Did any of your ancestors get a job based on superior education and training that was unavailable to black people? How many black people did any of us work alongside in the 60's? (Military service excepted). So, my point is that in many ways we have all benefited from racism. First in being allowed to come to the land of opportunity when others were not based on the color of their skin. Next in being allowed to pursue an education when others were not based on the color of their skin. Next, in being considered for a job based on the color of their skin. The question is not whether or not affirmative action was EVER needed to correct past injustices. The question we should now be asking is whether or not affirmative action has accomplished its purpose and should now be discarded. What I say next may surprise you, but I believe that with the election of a black President, that affirmative action has done its job and we should now return to a strictly merit based system. But, I will never agree that it wasn't necessary in the first place.
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I agree with you, but recommend you put on some armor.