Thank you draino ! I see what you are getting at, but I dont see how race is at all the issue here. I think that any difference in anybodys experience would cause varying interpretation of almost any text! I just dont get how race is a factor!
You are correct in this assesment. Simply being black doesn't affect the person's ability to interpert the text...it is in fact the person's experience that limits his/her ability to interperet the text because the text, like most things in our society is geared towards the average white student. It's this type of hidden discrimination that people of color experience on a daily basis that I believe AA aims to get around, NOT the name-calling, police-brutality, sitting-at-the-back-of-the-bus type discrimination that people seem to think it's meant to address.The fact is that with this type of hidden, institutional (and unintentional) bias towards white students, a black person that acheives a 3.1 gpa very well could have been using every bit as much mental capacity and horse-power as a white student that acheived a 3.3 gpa.
well yeah! the german person might speak a foreign language, has studied a different set of standardized curriculum, eats different foods, drives on a different side of the street.... i mean german person comes from a really different background. But even in our system, the german person would not benefit from affirmative action...an URM who lives in america, eats mcdonalds like the rest of us, speaks english, and drives on the Right side of the road would benefit from the system and would somehow diversify the class better! So the german wins there.. But how are 2 people who's only difference is race really that culturally different if we all grew up here on mcdonalds?
I would say that no system is perfect and there really isn't a point justifying the chinks in the chain. To iron them out would take time and effort that not many people would care to give.URMs are generalised, probably overly as well. I believe should you put a white person next to an urm, they would be judged equally (in the perfect world) unless it can be proved beyond reasonable doubt that the URM had gone through more difficulties than the white person or vice-versa. The foundation on which URM was established was the recognition of unequal standing within society by people. Although a great deal of this has been resolved, it can be expected that URMs would raise hell if they weren't given the place should their educational/life bground be exactly the same as the white person's. They have a lot going for them "to redress past discrimination".However, I would like to add that most URMs who apply to T14s do get in on their own merit. It is usually URMs who can only apply to third tier toilet thrash that do raise the above argument saying that "white boy always treat me, my gramps, my gr8 gramps.... like dirt".Be humble and be satisfied that you made it into LS. You reap what you sow, so there isn't a need to compare nor to examine why that URM made it in but you didn't because that would be plain offensive and absolutely indicative (every finger you point at someone, four are pointed back at you) - EVERYONE IS EQUAL - It's an opportunity that not many people recieve so remember to give back to society.Your Asian Friend,acccr4pPS: I know some of the terms and phrases used are really crude but I didn't see the point to beat about the bush. It's just my honest opinion with no offense or hurt intended. Everyone is entitled to their own view so please respect theirs and they will respect yours.
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