Affirmative action elicits a reaction. Which do you prefer to side with? Support or oppose?
At a recent social gathering, a friend communicated that he doesn't believe in hiring minorities, but equal opportunity hiring. Makes sense. One should not be hired to fill the quota on hiring visible minorities, but they should be equally and fairly considered in terms of their qualifications.
What is disturbing is that often, people believe that affirmative action means that minorities will be hired regardless of their lack in their qualifications, just because they are a minority. No. Let's not get this twisted here. With that attitude, affirmative action is no longer affirmative.
What debaters, policy makers, gate keepers and YOU have to understand is, people often look at an individual that may be categorized as a minority and think they were only hired because of their race, religion, gender etc. In actuality, that is the exact maintenance of discrimination that affirmative action intends to deconstruct.
The idea is, HIRE BASED ON QUALIFICATIONS.
When applying for a job, it really should be what you know, not who you know. Unfortunately, it is not so. Unfortunately, it is also, who you are, what skin colour you wear, who your parents are etc.
Minorities are faced with discrimination even prior to the job interview. The education system is filled with hidden curriculum that undermines the abilities and opportunities of minorities. The fact that something like AFFIRMATIVE ACTION even exists tells you right there what kind of world we live in... A world that needs policies to ensure organizations and companies hire fairly. ... Why? Because at one point in time, it was well accepted that minorities WEREN'T being considered fairly.
Just ask the person next to you. Chances are, they're categorized as a minority too.
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