[Some] minorities [agree]....Class based AA.

[blondngreen]

In his 1964 book, Why We Can't Wait, Martin Luther King Jr made the classic argument for taking affirmative steps to address our nation's history. He wrote, "It is obvious that if a man is entered at the starting line in a race three hundred years after another man, the first would have to perform some impossible feat in order to catch up to his fellow man." But instead of proposing a plan of preferences for blacks, he proposed a "Bill of Rights for the Disadvantaged." King said, "It is a simple matter of justice that America , in dealing creatively with the task of raising the Negro from backwardness, should also be rescuing a large stratum of the forgotten white poor."



On ABC's "This Week" show, George Stephanopoulos asked Obama, "you and your wife went to Harvard Law School . Got plenty of money, you're running for president. Why should your daughters when they go to college get affirmative action?"

In his response, Obama didn't take the question to a higher level of abstraction and talk generally about the importance of racial diversity; he stuck with the concrete facts. "I think that my daughters should probably be treated by any admissions officer as folks who are pretty advantaged..." Then, he went further, "I think that we should take into account white kids who have been disadvantaged and have grown up in poverty and shown themselves to have what it takes to succeed."

[bluepeter]

I don't really think your arguments matter.  We all can see that a poor white person who attends terrible schools deserves some form of AA and that Barack Obama's kids don't, but minority groups are a very powerful force in this country and they will fight to defeat class based AA.  I remember Clinton talked about changing the system and of in stepped Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson complaining.  It's stupid to think minorities don't have power.  There really isn't any group specifically lobbying to get poor whites preferential treatment.  I agree with previous posters that AA will be abolished, and not a minute too soon.
P.S.  The most racist people I ever met were black.  Just my own personal experience growing up in a poor area of NO.

[Lindbergh]

The title of this thread is rather condescending.  I find it amusing actually, because it was probably unintentional yet it says a lot about the OP. 

What do you feel it says?  Presumably, there are smart and less-smart minorities, just as there are smart and less-smart whites. 

[blondngreen]

The title of this thread is rather condescending.  I find it amusing actually, because it was probably unintentional yet it says a lot about the OP. 

What do you feel it says?  Presumably, there are smart and less-smart minorities, just as there are smart and less-smart whites. 

I made reference to two men I respect considerably.  I find their views much more compelling than any others I have read in this forum.  As I said, the smart minorities get it, those governed by self interest don't.

[Lindbergh]

The title of this thread is rather condescending.  I find it amusing actually, because it was probably unintentional yet it says a lot about the OP. 

What do you feel it says?  Presumably, there are smart and less-smart minorities, just as there are smart and less-smart whites. 

I made reference to two men I respect considerably.  I find their views much more compelling than any others I have read in this forum.  As I said, the smart minorities get it, those governed by self interest don't.

Sounds a lot like you're saying there are "good minorities" and "bad minorities". 

Maybe I'm reading too much into it and not giving you the benefit of the doubt. 

Well, just as there are smart and less-smart minorities, there are certainly good and less-good minorities (just as there are good and less-good whites).  What's your point exactly?

[blondngreen]

The title makes it sound like the only people who can be classified as smart minorities are those who support class-based AA, and no other additional types of AA. And that if that's not your position, you aren't one of these smart minorities.

Thank you Frida, but I believe I was being very specific with my examples. 

[blondngreen]

The title makes it sound like the only people who can be classified as smart minorities are those who support class-based AA, and no other additional types of AA. And that if that's not your position, you aren't one of these smart minorities.

Thank you Frida, but I believe I was being very specific with my examples. 

How about "These smart minorities."

Or, "Two smart minorities..."?

They both felt smart.

If you disagree with them, say so.  Why were Dr.King and Mr.Obama wrong?   Or is it just the title of this thread that you have a problem with?  Let's just focus on the minutiae and ignore the bigger issue.

[Lindbergh]

The title makes it sound like the only people who can be classified as smart minorities are those who support class-based AA, and no other additional types of AA. And that if that's not your position, you aren't one of these smart minorities.

Well, that's certainly possible, right?

[Lindbergh]

If you disagree with them, say so.  Why were Dr.King and Mr.Obama wrong?   Or is it just the title of this thread that you have a problem with?  Let's just focus on the minutiae and ignore the bigger issue.

Actually, the only issue I was raising was the title of the thread itself.  But I don't speak for goaliechica. 

But you haven't explained what you feel is wrong with it.   

[Lindbergh]

If you disagree with them, say so.  Why were Dr.King and Mr.Obama wrong?   Or is it just the title of this thread that you have a problem with?  Let's just focus on the minutiae and ignore the bigger issue.

No.

Many AA supporters (or at least, the anti-anti-AA people) have stated that economic background should be a factor in determining preference.  A separate factor.  The issues facing minorities are different from the issues facing white people of any economic status.  Some issues might be similar, sure, but not all.  If you're unwilling to see that, we'll never have a more thorough discussion on this topic because we have a fundamental rift in basic understandings.

hth.

Just out of curiousity, how do you feel such issues facing minorities affect GPA/LSAT in law school admissions?