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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".
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
the congress:
If the people which affirmative action was made for are against most of it's
principles--and the white male loses jobs because of it--why is the majority so
One of the most powerful arguments for affirmative action is based upon claims
from minorities who believe that they deserve a certain amount of compensation
because of the past discrimination which they have received. Diana Axelson,
chairperson of the Department of Philosophy of Spelman College, states this in
her essay, "Affirmative Action Compensates for Past Discrimination", by claiming,
"The first form of compensation which seems appropriate is compensations...for
injuries they themselves have received as a result of individualized or
institutionalized racism and sexism" (33). In my opinion, the blame of past
wrongs should not be put upon the employer, nor should something which happened
in the past be a factor in hiring practices. To quote Michael Levin, professor
of philosophy:
Although society may sympathize with past wrongs, it is not any employer's
obligation to compensate these people; further, it would be a great injustice to
society's majority to ignore them in order to accomplish this.