Essay About Affirmative Action And People Of Various Minorities

Affirmative Action
Essay Preview: Affirmative Action
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Affirmative Action is Discrimination
Affirmative action is a plan designed to end discrimination by guaranteeing
minorities will be hired, regardless of race or gender. While our country hires
such groups based upon these guarantees, the qualifications of such people are
occasionally overlooked. Many believe that affirmative action is a very
effective plan; however, the population which opposes such action frequently
includes people of various minorities, as well as many others who have been
wronged by this plan In several cases, this plan causes minorities to be
perceived as being under-qualified when hired; in addition, it also causes a new
minority, the white male. Our government must acknowledge the fact that
affirmative action is not putting an end to discrimination; in all actuality,
this plan has succeeded in creating new minorities, and more reasons for
discrimination. Affirmative action frequently causes qualified employees to be
looked down upon because some believe them to be “affirmative action hires”.
Two of my female relatives are currently on the police force; as a result, I
have encountered many discriminatory comments pertaining to their positions.
The first remark I usually receive suggests that they were hired for their
position solely based on gender. Another comment which I usually receive is,
“Well, being a woman probably didnt hurt their resume.” Both of my relatives
are very good at their jobs; one was even on the popular television show, Cops.
Neither of them are “wimps”, yet most males look down upon them as being hired
because of affirmative action. This type of criticism is received by many
minorities holding good jobs, whether they are qualified or not. To quote
William Reynolds, assistant attorney general in the civil rights division:
In many cases, affirmative action takes away from legitimate
minority success. People look at the black banker
downtown who has made it on his own and say, “He got his
job because of affirmative action.” Or, an employer hires a
few talented minority people who would have succeeded
anyway and says, “Those are my affirmative-action hires.”
(26)
In this particular case, affirmative action may, or may not, have been the
reason for hiring, yet that is what most perceive. People of any race or gender
should be able to hold a job where their colleagues respect them as equals, not
as “affirmative-action hires”.
My cousin, Christine, has also added to my knowledge on how well affirmative
action works at the hospital where she works. One of the administrators
happened to be a black male–who was very qualified for his position–yet most
of the staff accused him of being promoted because of his race. This affected
his morality to such an extent that he resigned shortly after his promotion.
Another black female–who was hired because of her race and gender–is not
qualified for her position, yet is esteemed by her colleagues for her
accomplishments. It seems that minorities are accepted to a certain extent,
until they become someones boss. It is also a scary situation when a person
has an under-qualified surgeon performing surgery on them because of affirmative
action.
Affirmative action insists that the employer must “[a]void the kind of
unnecessary escalation of criteria for selection and promotion which has
sometimes been used to keep certain classes of people from entering the
mainstream of our economic life” (Berry 19). This aspect of the plan creates
more openings for minorities; however, it also suggests that the standards
should be maintained at a low to guarantee these openings. In my opinion, if
the standards for any position are raised, the productivity and accuracy of the
country will rise accordingly. When the policy of affirmative action is to
almost lower the standards of our society, this sacrifices quality for the sake
of equality. Roy Wilkins, a former Executive Director of the NAACP, stated to