Six years ago while I was nearing graduation for my undergraduate degree I was asked the following question, “Aren’t you afraid that you won’t be able to get a job?” I was not immediately certain as to the context of the question, but upon further inquiry, I soon found that the questioner was worried I would not be hired for jobs because I was white (and a man). This was the first time I had really thought about what affirmative action was, and what it might mean to me. My thoughts regarding affirmative action had mainly been influenced by my family and the media. For the most part, I thought that affirmative action was a good thing, but I did not know why I thought that way. Doubts about affirmative action being a positive policy seeped into my head while I was conducting my first job search. I believed that reverse-racism and/or reverse-discrimination existed and that I would have to “watch my back.”
Today, I have read, thought, and conversed about affirmative action. I feel that I use to believe in the myth of meritocracy. “Everyone can succeed as long as they work hard,” floated around inside my head and veiled my mind from the truth. I believe that the United States is not a meritocracy and that affirmative action is extremely necessary. Why is it necessary? Because the United States is a system built upon the backbreaking labor, systematic abuse, and marginalization of people of color, women, and other subordinate groups. Affirmative action is a program that seeks to provide equity for these marginalized groups. It helps to create a balance against the white supremacist patriarchy in which we live.
Several arguments exist which seek to discredit or devalue affirmative action. Two arguments that I hear frequently include: 1) Affirmative action gives jobs to people of color who are not qualified and they only receive said job due to this program. 2) White men are discriminated against because of the inherent reverse-racism within affirmative action programs.
The first argument seems to stem from the belief that the definitions of what makes for a “qualified” employee are usually in the hands of white folks. Most of the institutions in the United States are chaired, governed, and otherwise presided over by white people. When a person of color is hired for a job, how often is their competency called into question? Let’s consider the following scenario: A white person interviews and is consequently hired for a job. I would posit that no one says to themselves, “wow, they must have been hired because they are white.” It does not happen. However, if a person of color goes through the same process there will be doubters. I think that a lot of people will say quite negatively, “Yep, here’s another example of affirmative action hiring a person of color. I hope they can do the job.” The white person is given an air of competency simply because of their whiteness. Affirmative action opens up spaces for marginalized individuals to combat the inequalities of white supremacy within the realm of employment.
The second argument against affirmative action is constructed within a context that is void of a historical context and knowledge of the existence of institutionalized racism. Historically speaking, white men have been in positions of power over everyone. This “power over” has saturated the United States for over one hundred years. White privilege exists because of racist tactics, strategies, and actions of the dominant paradigm. The dominant paradigm is hierarchical and white men sit atop this ladder. To say that white men are discriminated against during hiring processes due to affirmative action is like saying white men are not in power. It is a falsity that is used to erode affirmative action and to maintain the ladder of white supremacist power. I believe that racism is something that white people perpetuate. Racism is institutionalized and spread into white consciousness like a virus. White men can be discriminated against, because discrimination is different from racism. It is true that I might be discriminated against in my lifetime, but not by affirmative action programs. Affirmative action programs will take a look at my qualifications and the qualifications of a person of color, a woman, etc. and if our qualifications are the same then I will not get the job. For racism to end, white people have to be willing to give up their unearned privileges and power. The same principle applies to sexism, heterosexism, ableism, and lookism. I feel that it is part of my anti-racist philosophy to rejoice in the fact that I did not get a job because of the mere fact that I am white. There are plenty of jobs that I can get.
So, rejoice in the knowledge that affirmative action exists. Affirmative action helps to restore the dignity of people in oppressed groups as well as people in oppressor groups. Affirmative action places all those who seek to work for the government at the starting gate of employment processes, instead of allowing the dominant paradigm to start ahead of those who have been, and currently are, marginalized.
Affirmative action is the means by which rich white people make poor white people pay for the transgressions of the rich white people’s ancestors. Nothing more, nothing less.
Rejoice? Rejoice that marginalized minorities get hired even when their qualifications are in question? Rejoice when under qualified minorities are hired for their race, color or creed alone? Ultra lefty white bread neo-hippies like yourself make me gag. Is this a portion of a paper you wrote at your left wing university for your (everything conservative is evil) Professor?
@ Po’ White (why do you call yourself “trash”?)
Who is questioning the qualifications of folks who belong to historically marginalized groups? Members of the dominant paradigm have been given preferential treatment for over a century. Affirmative action helps to bring balance to a system that has been proven to marginalize folks in subordinate groups.
Wow. I’ve never had someone call me such wonderful names before!
However, I’m not really a fan of bread that is white. I’m more of a whole wheat, multi-grain kind of guy.
What’s a neo hippy?
It might be best if you consulted with a health care provider for your gag reflex. It could cause you some discomfort, especially due to the overwhelming amount of social justice bloggers in the blogosphere.
I didn’t realize that Oregon State University was a left wing institution…
I feel that oppression is evil and that my paper aligns with my social justice values.
Thanks for visiting!
America is supposed to be about individuals striving for personal achievement on the basis of their merit. True, we fall short of this in many instances, but in no way does that justify Affirmative Action programs. I’m a well educated white man who USED to be in favor of AA until I found myself unemployed and, low and behold, went into a job interview and basically told that I couldn’t do the job because they were looking for a minority candidate. My world was crushed and I ended up becoming very poor for a very long time because of it. As much as I feel bad for African-Americans who sometimes are discriminated against, there is no reason that I should be punished because I’ve never been handed anything myself, nor have I ever acted racists toward anybody.
I’m not sure where to begin, PATRH — You do realize the irony of your name with regards to your comment?
I found a really good article on white privilege and affirmative action that should address your points…it’s written by Tim Wise, an anti-racist, pro-affirmative action, white man.
Here are a few excerpts:
[…] Wow! What a compliment! I had no idea that I am “one of the most dangerous leftists..in the edusphere.” Although, to clarify, I don’t identify as a leftist. […]
[…] I’ve written about white privilege and the meritocracy myth before but I feel that I need to add a few more bits of content. […]
[…] http://ericstoller.com/blog/2006/03/04/affirmative-action/ […]
Yawn. Another social democracy lover adhering to the myth of tolerance. White people founded this country; it is inevitable and just that they will ever be its aristocracy. There is no instance in history of an imperial power (take Rome or Britain as examples) in which other races than the founders’ received preferential treatment-except America. That we, white males, have been coerced to believe other races deserve such treatment is a testament to the power of the fallacy that “every man is created equally.” It is time that we disregard this semitic ideal and be more realistic. Our race deserves more privilege, not less. If we have any pride left in the achievements of our race, we must once and for all abolish affirmative action and other politically correct initiatives that give favor to non-white minorities. Whites must not lose their will to power!
There are very few moments on this site when I wish that I had avatars for commenters. It would have been nice to see you hiding behind your freshly pressed white hood. To attempt to respond to your words would be similar to sparying cologne on a pile of dog shit. It would do little to quell the stench.
When comments like yours appear, it is a good barometer for the power of the written word to garner attention in the fight against racism and oppression. Thanks for reading.
[…] My blog post on affirmative action was recently included as a chapter in a book. The book, “Issues That Concern You: Discrimination,” was published by Greenhaven Press in December, 2007. It is the first time that something that I have written has been published in a book. The book has a hardcover and yes, it is on my desk at this very moment! I am giddy with excitement. […]
I can definitely see the merits of affirmative action in rectifying structural inequalities within American society. However, my ongoing hesitation to endorse the policy is grounded in my concern about how it has exacerbated, or perhaps even created, DIFFERENT structural inequalities.
Statistically speaking, Asian and Indian Americans generally have particularly high qualifications for college and yet, as a result of affirmative action, are unduly held to substantially higher standards of merit by the admissions process in order to accommodate African American students and meet the set percentage quota for each ethnicity.
Obviously, Asian and Indian Americans, can hardly claim the dominant status of white men - they suffer from discrimination just as African Americans do. How can anyone objectively say that one minority group is marginalized more than another minority group? There may be cultural aspects that compel them to pursue academics, but that is neither grounds to claim that it is permissible to disadvantage them, nor does it mean they were not structurally disadvantaged by American society to begin with. In a deadlock, the white employer will err in favor of the white applicant and against the Asian or Indian American applicant just as easily as he would default against an African American.
Moreover, these other minority groups suffer labels of being “GPA machines”, and accomplished students from these groups will often be dismissed to only be “book smart” or underdeveloped in terms of social skills. This puts these students into a double bind of stereotypes - if they study and work hard for college, they are dismissed as socially inept robots. But if they invest more in their social lives at the expense of their education, then they obviously decrease their chances of getting into college (while, of course, the other stereotypes remain in place and further harm their chances of admission).
In my opinion, affirmative action is problematic precisely because it is so myopic. This not to say you are at fault, but this narrow-sightedness can be evidenced simply by the fact that Asian and Indian Americans are not even REFERENCED in your entire entry. In making the sweeping claim that you help “the marginalized” while in fact you are only referencing African Americans, this creates a mindset that only further disenfranchises other minority groups because their equally relevant marginalization goes overlooked.
Perhaps, then, affirmative action is not the answer. Instead of adopting a callous complacency that says “at least we’re doing SOMETHING,” we should instead step back for a moment and take the initiative to find alternative ways of creating opportunities for African Americans - without having to sacrifice the opportunities of different minority groups in the process.
God, I can’t believe I just typed all of that.
btw, congrats on the book chapter!
And also, Krystian Kowalczyk is a massive douchebag.
You are, of course, entitled to your own opinion. One of the wonders of this democracy is that I am also entitled to mine. My personal views represent a fair portion of the white populace, and if that makes you uncomfortable, I’m glad. The “truth” of racism and oppression which you hold to be self-evident is nothing but illusion. But it is typical for a liberal, post-modern effete like yourself to resort to calling an opponent “a massive douchebag.” Certainly, that is the conduct of a truly enlightened debater. Kudos.
The “have nots” whom you so brashly defend are “disadvantaged” precisely because they have become a maladaptive under-class of complainers with an entitlement complex. What makes them different from whites is not the amount of opportunities they are given in our society, but rather their strident opposition to accomplishing anything of value. If there’s inherent racism in the system, it is what I call the “black KKK,” since blacks are far more likely to face discrimination (and murder, people!) from their own kind than from whites.
Of course you will label my point of view as “redneck” or “racist”, but that is merely the response you’ve been conditioned to give when someone questions your rarefied weltanschauung. There is no deserve in this life, only opportunity and drive. Those who bitch about being denied what they deserve use up precious time they could be using to diligently exploit opportunity. In other words, lay off the race-warfare rhetoric: It is long past the sell-by date.
And by the way, fellows, your out-and-out dismissal of my words reveals you as the narrow-minded sycophants and weaklings that you are.
No matter how you dress up white supremacist rhetoric, it always ends up being people of color who are to blame for racial injustice instead of institutionalized structures of oppression. Ugh.
I think it’s pretty funny that you searched for “Another social democracy lover adhering to the myth of tolerance” in order to find my site again. I wonder if this is a phrase that you like to place in comments on blogs like mine in order to find your way back again.
I guess I should take some comfort in the realization that my blog posts must be of some value since white supremacists feel the need to visit over and over again.
Thanks for calling me a narrow-minded sycophant and a weakling. Your words feel like compliments as it takes a lot of guts to constantly put up with comments from racists.
Krystian Kowalczyk is entitled to his opinion but despite his half-assed attempts at Nietzschean metaphysics, it still makes him a massive wad of douche-refuse.
As a side note, I’d rather let the merits of racial supremacy be debated in a different forum, however I’m still interested in any potential back-and-forth based on my first really long response to Eric’s article. Can I get any responses?
Krystian, I just…..wow. Just wow.
Funny thing about Rome: It burned.
themoneybeet: Sometimes no one responds because a comment is so tightly-written there’s not really anything to take issue with.
That’s how I feel about your comment.
To Krystian Kowalczyk, I did not even get past the first few lines of your first comment because you lost all credit when you said that this country was founded by whites. The Indians founded this place…go back to grade school. In reality, they should be in charge and running this country.