Affirmative Action

As topics go, affirmative action is very high in terms of controversy. But, I read Senator Obama’s book “The Audacity of Hope” lately, and it’s caused me to think about it a bit. Of all the topics he discusses, those regarding race have the most impact.

Personally, I’ve always had the opinion that affirmative action is the wrong approach, at least these days. The basis is I don’t believe you solve the problems of racism by treating people differently. By doing so, you reinforce a separation, differentiated from private clubs only by intent.

I’ve recently come to realize a different point of view, but it’s curiously not the one I usually hear supporting affirmative action. The point of view I usually hear supporting affirmative action is one of victimization. Most often, this relates back to the days of slavery or the years after and the misdeeds of those days. Sometimes it relates more rationally to the less severe racism left today.

First Point of View – Reparations

I believe that hearing the arguments from these points of view has shaped my general disapproval of the policy. The first point of view grounds itself upon the past. My opinion is any argument that stretches beyond the lifespan of a single generation is inherently flawed.

It is tempting to latch on to the argument that since wealth, and the significant amounts of opportunity it affords, is passed down by generation that the whites of today are responsible for the actions of those of yesterday. The problem with such arguments based upon the past is, how far back should they go? Individuals should be responsible for their actions only, not for the actions of their parents or other ancestors.

Except in the case of clear and unequivocal traceability of wrongfully acquired wealth to direct inheritance, the past should be ignored. Anything else is sure to result in more conflict than resolution and reconciliation. Many senseless wars and feuds have been founded on senseless arguments based upon historical actions, which would better be ignored. This doesn’t mean forgotten. The past serves a purpose of cautioning us against future mistakes. It also doesn’t even require forgiveness. If you want to remain angry with dead people, go ahead. What it requires is a realization that those people are different from the people of the present.

Second Point of View - Balance

The second point of view is more valid, as there clearly still are problems with racism. But the traditional types of racism, which I would describe as hatred, superiority and opportunity based are less common than the more subtle types, which I would describe as impression, generalization and reaction based.

While the effects of all types are just as real, there are important distinctions among them. The traditional types are premeditated, the subtle types generally are not (generalization can be, but not always). The difference is more than a lessening of culpability, but an important insight into how to resolve the problem.

Threat of punishment is an effective tool to alter premeditated behavior, but for unconscious behavior, it is less so. Actual repeated punishment can be effective as shaping unconscious behavior, but simply the threat of it is ineffective. I hardly believe that is the solution.

There is some justification for affirmative action as a balance to the effects of what remains of racism today. But when sold as a response to current victimization, I don’t consider the argument great enough to justify the negative long-term effects that could result. Effects like a rise in hatred based racism, or a new generalization that could result from forcing companies to hire minority applicants less qualified than the general workforce. (This requires qualification to prevent a mistaken interpretation. I don’t mean any minority is inherently less qualified, but at any given time it’s possible there is a shortage of qualified minorities in any given profession/geographic area that makes it impossible for a company to meet quotas without lowering standards. Statistical variation pretty much insures this will happen sometimes no matter how carefully quotas are set.)

Third Point of View – Future

There is a third point of view, which I think is far more valid. Don’t look at the past, or the present, but at the future. Don’t look at affirmative action as reparations for past or ongoing wrongs, but as a way of solving the problem entirely. At their roots, the subtle types of racism are based upon actual, though unfortunate, truths. It’s true that blacks per capita commit more crimes. People use this fact to generalize. The classic example is if an unfamiliar person approaches a traveler in an unfamiliar area, the traveler is more likely to be on guard if the unfamiliar person is black.

While the logic behind this reaction might seem sound, many times it’s an overgeneralization, because the traveler may fail to consider a great deal of other variables, such as how the unfamiliar person is dressed, their facial expression or body posture, etc.

But, if we’re honest with ourselves, we have to admit that bad generalizations are a fact of life that goes a lot farther than racism. They are a fact of human nature. For example, most people you ask would surely tell you that a 4600 lb. Chevy Trailbazer was safer than the 3300 lb Hyundai Sonata, but they’d be wrong. People make uninformed decisions all day long, and even worse, they often ignore important details. That is what a lot of the subtle type of racism boils down too.

It’s too hard to change this type of innate behavior and the resulting mistakes. You might be able to mitigate it a bit by making people more sensitive to a few common areas of overgeneralization. That is why the concept of “protected classes” exists. But this only goes so far. Worse, it requires a constant second guessing of yourself, which is guaranteed to hamper your decision making skills in other areas.

Truly solving the problem requires you to remove or lessen those unfortunate truths that contribute to the pattern of overgeneralization. Insuring disadvantaged classes gain access to important resources, like schools or jobs, helps alleviate the underlying problems that contribute to the initial generalizations.

It’s not a panacea however. No matter how much opportunity you provide, individuals must step up to take advantage of it.