Blog Post 7/19/15

Bennett Lees

7/19/15

Affirmative Action creates reverse racism. Discuss.

          Affirmative Action is the favoring of discriminated minorities within housing availability, enrollment at schools, and job opportunities. These are institutionalized things. The idea that Affirmative Action creates reverse racism is untrue. Reverse racism can be defined as discrimination against a dominant or formerly dominant group in an attempt to make up for past mistakes, and it can be officially sanctioned or just social.

          First of all, the premise that discriminating against a group to make up for past discrimination is horrible. It doesn't solve any problems and doesn't promote social progress or acceptance. And Affirmative Action is not discrimination against a certain group. It is favorability of a different group. Affirmative Action is designed to provide help to people who need it the most. It is a form of equity. Blacks and Hispanics are favored because they require more assistance than white people do. It allows people to receive equal opportunity. Affirmative Action does nothing to put white people at a disadvantage. It does nothing to actively inhibit white people from being successful. It has nothing to do with them. Affirmative Action's sole purpose is to raise up people who unfortunately have not had the same privileges as whites and place them on the same level as everyone else.

          I can understand that people would believe that Affirmative Action is creating reverse racism and that they are being discriminated against. But I actually think that this belief of discrimination against white people is born out of the fact that white people have always been accustomed to being privileged. They have always thought of themselves as superior and now that they are no longer favored, they believe that they are being discriminated against. They have labeled Affirmative Action as a cause of reverse racism, but in reality Affirmative Action is only a form of social equity.