The Problems With Affirmative Action

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The Problems With Affirmative Action

Tim was working as a college professor for many years at an ivy-league school. Tim was a very well liked by the students and by the administration. Tim's qualifications were hard to beat, with a book and many other writings to his credit. One day he went to work and found out that he had been replaced by a woman that had less experience and fewer credentials (McElroy).

The definition of affirmative action is as follows:

Affirmative action means taking positive steps to recruit, hire, train, and promote individuals from groups that have traditionally been discriminated against on the basis of race, sex, disability, or other characteristics. In this sense, affirmative action goes beyond equal employment opportunity, which requires employers to eliminate discriminatory conditions, whether inadvertent or intentional, and to treat all employees equally in the workplace ( What ... action? ).

Tim lost his job to a procedure that had the main purpose to make the process of hiring workers and accepting people to colleges equal for the minorities and women. However, the process, affirmative action, does not make it equal and it gives minorities and women extra rights. Affirmative action is a procedure that is unfair and unjust to the majority of the people.

It is not ethical to cure discrimination of minority's and women with another form of discrimination when the majority is discriminated against. Discrimination is hard to correct, but if laws are for discrimination of any kind, it will never be corrected. Plous argued against this and said, "the most effective way to cure society of exclusionary practices is to make special efforts at inclusion." In the statement, the word "special"...

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...ww.now.org/press/04-03/04-01.html>.

Jorgensen, Eric T. "Affirmative Action is Not So Bad." The Back Page. 4 Sept. 1998. 21 Oct. 2003 <http://www.sff.net/people/ericj/backpage/1998/affirmac.htp>.

McElroy, Wendy. "What does Affirmative Action Affirm." wendymcelroy.com. 24 Oct. 2003 <http://www.zetetics.com/mac/affirm.htm>.

Plous, S. "Ten myths about affirmative action." Understanding Prejudice and Discrimination. 2003. 21 Oct. 2003 <http://www.UnderstandingPrejudice.org/readroom/articles/affirm.htm>.

Smith, Peter J. "Affirmative action can hurt qualifited whites." The State News: Michigan State University's Independent Voice. 15 Sept. 1998. 21 Oct. 2003 <http://www.statenews.com/editionsfall98/091598/op_ltr3.html>. "What is affirmative action?" Hrnext.com. 2003. 21 Oct. 2003 <http://www2.hrnext.com/Article.cfm/Nav/1.41.105.0.6829.6829>.

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