On Affirmative Action

Dictionary.com defines affirmative action as the following:

affirmative action?
?noun
The encouragement of increased representation of women and minority-group members, especially in employment.

In practice, this is often enacted through legislative measures that in some cases are controversial enough to spawn lawsuits. Affirmative action policies in university admissions and hiring practices have caused some to term the practice "reverse discrimination," believing that it creates situations where candidates who are not women or minorities are passed over in place of lesser-qualified candidates who are.

A case regarding affirmative action in admissions at the University of Michigan went to the Supreme Court in 2003, and though the affirmative action was found constitutional within certain bounds, the fight over it has continued.

Recently, the state of Michigan's legislature passed a ban on the use of affirmative action. The new law was brought before a federal appeals court, who struck it down. It is speculated, though, that the appeal process will continue, possibly reaching the Supreme Court once again.

So the question for discussion is this: does affirmative action indeed cause "reverse discrimination"? If so, is this phenomenon simply something we must accept for the good that affirmative action does minorities and women? Does it even effectively do what it was meant to, or end up creating more issues?

As this is an issue of gender, race, and a fair dose of politics, I'd like to remind everyone to please keep your discussions civil and debates courteous. Informed opinions and arguments would be appreciated, and I think this is a discussion worth having, as long as we can keep it within the bounds of reason. I'm interested to hear your thoughts.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/UcUx_U3oym4/viewtopic.php

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