Thursday, July 12, 2012

Affirmative Action - a politically accepted form of discrimination

In the years of democracy, the social patterns on discrimination with access to education, employment and economic wealth, predominantly in the public sector, remain intact. The only difference in that now the tables has been turned around. 

Affirmative Action is supposed to be a programme designed to end the unfair balances in the public sector, but is it not justifying racism by its own actions? Its policies judge people solely on skin colour and gender; that’s discrimination in its self. 

Discrimination can’t be a remedy for imbalances caused by our past. No programme can be considered as good when it hurts others. Affirmative Action strives to help minorities and women to be recognised more in the public sector, but in the process reverse discrimination has taken place. 

For that reason, Affirmative Action shows ineffectiveness in the public sector because the aim of this sector is to cater for the entire public, not a certain group of people within the public. 

This cannot be an affirmative programme if there is a form of discrimination involved. Instead of choosing a candidate for a job or for school admission based on their skin colour or gender, only their capabilities and qualifications should be taken into consideration.

Why should some people get special preferences over others? It is just not correct. There should be no special treatments and no special preferences given to certain individuals. Everyone has an opportunity to advance in this country; you just have to take the initiative.

Yes, this comes from a young black professional from a "previously" disadvantaged background  

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