Affirmative action according to LaFollette (2007) is
“the practice of giving special consideration to minorities and women in hiring
and school placement” (p. 87). I am a
white male who makes a sincere and conscious effort to remove any bias or
assumptions when addressing affirmative action.
I am fully aware there are differing opinions on affirmative action and
this practice affects people (women, men, race) differently. However, I make a point to not only try to
educate and form my opinion on this issue through how it affects me, but also how
it affects others. Can I truly
understand how affirmative action someone who is black or female or both? Of course not, but I can at least try. The question at hand here is not whether
affirmative action is or is not effective.
The question is if it is ethical.
First I think a basic understanding of ethics should be addressed to
help answer the ethical dilemma. The
definition of ethics according to Merriam-Webster is “an area of study that
deals with ideas about what is good and bad behavior : a branch of philosophy
dealing with what is morally right or wrong” (Merriam-Webster, n.d.). So now the question gets a little more
specific of whether affirmative action is good or bad behavior or if it is
morally right or wrong.
Affirmative action is described by Allen (2011) as “a
measure designed to remedy the effects of wrongful discrimination or improve
diversity. Affirmative action can remedy
the injustice of discrimination on the basis of race and sex, and other traits
as well, such as sexual orientation or language. As a U.S. civil rights policy, “affirmative
action” commonly denotes race-conscious and result-oriented efforts by private
and public officials to correct the unequal distribution of economic
opportunity and education attributed to slavery, segregation, poverty, and
racism” (p. 254). Personally, I think
affirmative action is morally wrong, and therefore not ethical. I
cannot ignore that discrimination has taken place through many generations and
still takes place today. However, I and
many others cannot control what happened in the past. I agree with LaFollette (2007) in that
opponents of affirmative action believe “people should be judged by what they
do now, not by what their grandparents did” and “not have to pay for the sins
of their parents and grandparents” (p. 89) because it is morally
inappropriate. However, he goes on to
say that affirmative action “holds that the children and grandchildren of those
who wronged blacks should not continue to benefit from those ancient wrongs”
(p. 89). I have trouble with that
statement because how do we determine who exactly wronged blacks and who is benefiting? It is impossible and
immeasurable.
Another debate concerning the ethics of affirmative
action is if it is a form of reverse discrimination. I admit, I have actually said that
affirmative action is a form of reverse discrimination out loud, so it was
interesting to read about the opposing views.
There are many examples countering the belief that affirmative is a form
of reverse discrimination and I find flaws in them. For example, Fish (2000) suggests “It was the
express purpose of some powerful white Americans to disenfranchise, enslave,
and later exploit black Americans. It was what they set out to do, whereas the
proponents of affirmative action did not set out to deprive your friend's cousin's
son of a place at Harvard” (p. 79). I
concur with Fish’s first statement; however, the relationship of who
affirmative action deprives is irrelevant.
It still deprives someone. On top
of that, it deprives someone based on race.
LaFollette (2007) admits “it was wrong to deprive people of jobs,
housing, health, public benefits, and legal and civil rights merely because of
their race” (p. 87). And, since
opponents believe affirmative action is discriminating against whites because
of their race, two wrongs do not make a right.
Yet, he believes the principle of universalizability applies because
discrimination and affirmative action have general and relevant differences to
justify different treatments. He goes on
to claim there are important differences between the two such as how “whites
have subjected blacks to decades of systematic and widespread discrimination”
(p. 88). But I ask the question, have
ALL whites done this? He also proposes
that “Whites are not thought to be inferior to blacks” (p. 88). Really?
Is this an answer from all whites?
Is this a response from all blacks?
I am not sure how he can prove that statement, unless it is strictly his
opinion. He goes further into moral
reasoning and shows how affirmative action programs do not favor blacks because
they are black, but because they are members of a systematically victimized
group. He makes these comparisons using
an example of two descriptions of a same event. “Mohammad Atta boarded an
airplane in Boston; (2) Mohammad Atta flew an airplane into the World Trade
Center” (p. 88). I fail to see the
comparison on a couple levels. First, I
have trouble believing that hiring organizations and academic admissions are
looking at anyone as part of a systematically victimized group. It is more likely that they are taking
someone’s minority status into consideration if they are participating in
affirmative action.
I have my views based on my experiences and what how
I see our society, just as someone who is black, or female, or Hispanic, or other
minority has their views. We, as a society,
need to do what is right in the present and future regarding hiring and
education placement. I believe we live
in a very different culture compared to the 60’s and decades prior. Yes, racism does exist and may never be
completely eradicated, but we are continuing on a positive path and live in a
much more color-blind society now. For example,
Ward Connerly Jr. (2009), one of the most visible anti-affirmative action
activists in the United States, stated "Although I did not vote for him, I
think he earned the election by the rules of merit. He ran the best campaign
... The election of Obama to be our president reconfirms that the American
people are ready for" color-blind policies that prohibit race-conscious affirmative
action” (Roach, p. 17).
References:
Allen, A. L. (2011). Was I entitled or should I
apologize? affirmative action going forward. The Journal of Ethics, 15(3),
253-263.
Ethics. (n.d.). In Merriam-Webster.com. Retrieved March11, 2016, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ethic
Fish, S. (2000). The nifty nine arguments against affirmative action in higher education. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, (27), 79.
LaFollette, H. (2007). The practice of ethics. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Roach, R. (2009). Renewing the fight against
affirmative action. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 25(26), 17.
Roach, R. (2009). Renewing the fight against
affirmative action. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 25(26), 17.
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