Affirmative Action - I think I've finally got it

[Tyo]

I’ve always supported Affirmative Action, but at the same time have always been a little uncomfortable with it. The Conservative argument that it is nothing more than reverse discrimination seems to make sense, at least on the surface.

But I switched on Thom Hartmann a while ago and caught the second half of an interview he was having with a nasty and annoying Rethug who had recently written a book trashing AA (and I don't think Thom was doing the greatest job in countering the guy). Anyway, I don’t remember what it was that flicked the switch for me, but I think I’ve got it now. Does the following make sense? It’s probably been obvious to most DUers forever, but I’m a little slow sometimes.

The meritocracy argument is valid only if everyone is starting from pretty much the same point and has pretty much the same opportunities. Then it’s up to them to make the best of what they were born with. Until we get a lot closer to that point than we are today we can’t have a meritocracy in any positive sense and it’s wrong to pretend otherwise.

On the other hand, I don’t think that you can deny that Affirmative Action is a form of discrimination; however, it is designed to self-destruct at a certain point. Instead of being the kind of discrimination that perpetuates inequality it does the opposite and therefore the need for it will eventually disappear.

I understand that in the real world things aren’t this neat and tidy, but if what I’ve said makes sense then I think I’ve resolved my conflict with AA in my own mind.