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affirmative action
Nov. 14th, 2003 06:16 pmAffirmative action is good in that it attempts to mitigate the inherently caucasian-patriarchal structure of our society, yet it can also reinforce that structure by contributing to the idea that women and other minorities aren't really qualified. The ideal would be to change the rhetoric of patriarchal fields to be more inclusive of women and other minorities. But that's difficult, to say the least.
My thoughts on having NO affirmative action is similar to my thoughts on the recently-defeated Proposition 54, which would have banned the collection of lots of important racial data: in a truly integrated, race-blind, non-patriarchal society, racial data and arrirmative action aren't necessary, but we sure as hell aren't there yet, as is shown by the number of white males in engineering, law, and politics; the number of black males in prison; and the lack of women in positions of power or wealth.
My thoughts on having NO affirmative action is similar to my thoughts on the recently-defeated Proposition 54, which would have banned the collection of lots of important racial data: in a truly integrated, race-blind, non-patriarchal society, racial data and arrirmative action aren't necessary, but we sure as hell aren't there yet, as is shown by the number of white males in engineering, law, and politics; the number of black males in prison; and the lack of women in positions of power or wealth.
