AA Board: Good or Bad?

[Do you think an entire board devoted to AA is a good idea or a bad idea?]

Do you think an entire board devoted to AA is a good idea or a bad idea?

Good idea

Bad idea

Neutral

[Alamo]

Fair enough; if I were a minority instead of the generic WASP male that I am, I might feel differently.  But if there's not a forum for communicating opinions on AA, a lot of people will remain ignorant about it.  Those on one hand who think that it's reverse discrimination, and those on the other who think it will solve all of society's racial issues will simply go on believing it. 

I'm a big believer in Thomas Jefferson's words: "For here we will tolerate any error, so long as reason is left free to combat it."  And so long as error persists in our world, I think it is incumbent upon us to combat it with reason.  I'm a firm believer that reason works far better than censorship in advancing the ideals with which we wish to shape our society.

[dbgirl]

It's a great idea! just name it 'Pissing in the Wind'

Yep. After reading about 1 million of these threads, I have yet to see anyone switch sides in this debate.  That is generally because they are started by militant anti-AAers who just want a place to vent.  I haven't seen anyone really trying to learn anything.

[finally]

Fair enough; if I were a minority instead of the generic WASP male that I am, I might feel differently.  But if there's not a forum for communicating opinions on AA, a lot of people will remain ignorant about it.  Those on one hand who think that it's reverse discrimination, and those on the other who think it will solve all of society's racial issues will simply go on believing it. 

I'm a big believer in Thomas Jefferson's words: "For here we will tolerate any error, so long as reason is left free to combat it."  And so long as error persists in our world, I think it is incumbent upon us to combat it with reason.  I'm a firm believer that reason works far better than censorship in advancing the ideals with which we wish to shape our society.

I see your point.  Some of these people infuriate me with their banter about being called a racist or not instead of understanding what I'm really saying (or what other people or saying).   They talk about being attacked rather than backing up their comments.  I just think those people really don't know how to express themselves eloquently without being inflammatory and that's really unfourtunate for them  since they are attending / or hope to be attending law school.  I'm just realy adamant about people backing up their comments with factual information or even their own REAL experiences.   

[Alamo]

Fair enough; if I were a minority instead of the generic WASP male that I am, I might feel differently.  But if there's not a forum for communicating opinions on AA, a lot of people will remain ignorant about it.  Those on one hand who think that it's reverse discrimination, and those on the other who think it will solve all of society's racial issues will simply go on believing it. 

I'm a big believer in Thomas Jefferson's words: "For here we will tolerate any error, so long as reason is left free to combat it."  And so long as error persists in our world, I think it is incumbent upon us to combat it with reason.  I'm a firm believer that reason works far better than censorship in advancing the ideals with which we wish to shape our society.

I see your point.  Some of these people infuriate me with their banter about being called a racist or not instead of understanding what I'm really saying (or what other people or saying).   They talk about being attacked rather than backing up their comments.  I just think those people really don't know how to express themselves eloquently without being inflammatory and that's really unfourtunate for them  since they are attending / or hope to be attending law school.  I'm just realy adamant about people backing up their comments with factual information or even their own REAL experiences.   

Amen!

[finally]

 

[redemption]

It's a great idea! just name it 'Pissing in the Wind'

Yep. After reading about 1 million of these threads, I have yet to see anyone switch sides in this debate.  That is generally because they are started by militant anti-AAers who just want a place to vent.  I haven't seen anyone really trying to learn anything.

I've switched sides, for what it's worth.

[Alamo]

It's a great idea! just name it 'Pissing in the Wind'

Yep. After reading about 1 million of these threads, I have yet to see anyone switch sides in this debate.  That is generally because they are started by militant anti-AAers who just want a place to vent.  I haven't seen anyone really trying to learn anything.

I've switched sides, for what it's worth.

It's not worth much if you won't elaborate.    

Where did you start, where are you now, and how did you get there?

[dbgirl]

Yes, I'd like to hear more from red.

[redemption]

Eh, it's complicated - the short version is that while I have some concerns about the consequences of affirmative action, I have not once seen an argument that focuses on these concerns rather than on the spurious excuses - "merit", "equality of opportunity", "color-blindness", "blacks do worse in law school" -  for being mean-spirited in the face of personal disappointment.

I should add that there are very compelling arguments for race-based AA, and that it is not a straightforward matter of choosing what is "right", but of what is better given the alternatives that one is faced with.

In the end, after all is said and done, one has to decide where one plants one's flag, and no matter what concerns I may have about AA, I can't stand with Googler, breadboy, fincavigia and the rest.

[Thou]

Almost anything can count for merit given the right context.