Disadvantages and Advantages of Affirmative Action

Civil rights where the most prominent and defining issue of the 1960’s. Out of this trying time came many things that have stuck with society, including the Affirmative Action laws. These are a set of laws and policies that aim to protect the minority communities of the country. This is done by inflicting diversity laws on businesses and education institutions, providing additional benefits to people of a minority, and giving them further protection underneath the law for things like hate crimes committed against them. These laws have proved to be very effective in the time that they have been implemented, but are they still relevant in today’s world?

The Advantages of Affirmative Action

1. Ensures Diversity
The United States was built on diversity and acceptance. As time went on, this became more and more blurred. The Affirmative Action laws are meant to ensure that the country stays diverse and tolerant of all people, no matter what their gender, race, or sexual orientation may be. If it is left completely up to chance, diversity is not very likely to occur at all.

2. Equal Education For All
It is a widely accepted fact that it is more difficult for minority youth to succeed than others. This is now way says that they cannot do it on their own, but the affirmative action laws have put policies in place that greatly aid and benefit these students. Education being the biggest one. Colleges and universities are required to admit a certain amount of minority students into their establishment each year, preventing them from discriminating.

3. Ease The Pain
America has a colored history filled with horrible acts of discrimination. The actions taken with the affirmative action initiatives where largely aimed to ease some of the left over pain and tension that has been instilled into the minority populations from previous wrong doing.

4. No More Violence
Hate crimes happen, and sadly, they are often very violent. A hate crime is when someone attacks a person of a minority simply because they are a different race, gender, or sexual orientation. These crimes are appalling, and the affirmative action laws inflict very harsh punishments for crimes of this nature. The hopes of these laws are to deter anyone who may want to commit a crime out of hatred from doing so.

The Disadvantages of Affirmative Action

1. Reverse Discrimination
Many people argue that Affirmative Action is simply a case of reverse discrimination. By giving special treatments to only some people,and not to others, causes racism to become even more prevalent. This also gives protections to minorities who commit violent crimes against other people.

2. Compromised Quality
In order to stay within the laws of this action, companies have felt the need to ease their policies in order to prevent violating any of these actions and being sued. The same goes for schools. This compromises the education and workplace.

3. Accomplishments Aren’t Theirs
Another major problem with the Affirmative Action laws is that the true achievements of the minority people get muggy and lost. People believe that they only got to the point that they are at now because of the aid that these laws gave them.

4. They’re Here To Stay
Because these laws have been put into effect for such an extremely long time, it is becoming even more and more difficult to change or remove them. At the time in history when they were put into effect, they where very much needed. However, in today’s society, thoughts and attitudes have changed so much that they are no longer necessary.

Important Facts About Affirmative Action

  • Affirmative action laws have given minority students the equivalent of 300 additional points onto their SATs.
  • In the times before affirmative action, the work force was made up of only around 15 percent women. In today’s society, there are nearly 50 percent of women in the work force.
  • The amount of black students enrolled in colleges has actually decreased drastically.
  • Leave a Comment