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comment by thenewgreen
thenewgreen  ·  3454 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Why I faked being black for med school

    Except. Except minorities are the ones that are impoverished to begin with. Hence why its necessary
No doubt that the majority of the poor in the US are either hispanic or black. Both groups make up about 26% of the poor in the US. Whites are 10% of the poor. I would think the best way to go would be to offer affirmative action for people below the poverty line regardless of race/ethnicity.

But then, what happens if some racist person in admissions is choosing all white, male applicants from the AA pool? Women and minorities would still be screwed.

It's a fucked up situation. AA is attempting to solve a problem that starts LONG before the college application process. Therefore, the long-term solution needs to occur well before the need for AA. It's baffling that we have such insanely bad schools in the US and are so wealthy. It's shameful. How outta-whack are our priorities? All children should have access to quality education from the age of 3 years old on. We need a level playing field. The field can't be leveled at the time of college enrollment, it needs to be from childhood. What if a portion the size of our interest payments on debt was set aside for early childhood education/care? That would be something, wouldn't it?

I think the solution, long term is all about educating the poorest among us. AA is a bandaid that I hope we don't need when my grandkids are around.

You write,

    If people read a fucking book now and again they'd see how often AA even helps minorities
-I haven't read any books on the topic. Are there some you would suggest?




briandmyers  ·  3454 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    I would think the best way to go would be to offer affirmative action for people below the poverty line regardless of race/ethnicity.

If it's solely needs-based, then I'd say it's no longer "affirmative action" at all. You're arguing here that affirmative action should not exist, full stop. Just sayin'.

thenewgreen  ·  3454 days ago  ·  link  ·  

    You're arguing here that affirmative action should not exist, full stop. Just sayin'.
No I'm not. My intent with the comment was to "think aloud," and not argue a point either way. Not because I have no convictions, but because I'm not sure how I feel about AA as a solution to a very real problem. You'll note that right after the bit you quote I wrote:

    But then, what happens if some racist person in admissions is choosing all white, male applicants from the AA pool? Women and minorities would still be screwed.
briandmyers  ·  3454 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Affirmative action is not the same as financial aid.

thenewgreen  ·  3454 days ago  ·  link  ·  

Thanks, I thought it was.