Well, you certainly seem to possess an extraordinary amount of anger towards me, my friend UCSBPre-Med1. I still do not know why my replying on AA threads would bother you so much. However, I do enjoy being called a racist. Someone is a racist because he vehemently believes that discrimination on the basis of race in college admissions is wrong. It is fascinating how AA can turn everything upside down. You're a racist if you do not believe in preferential treatment based on race. We shouldn't discriminate between people on academic factors such as GPA/MCAT for admissions into an academic school. Don?t you love the self-contridicatory nature of it all?
Mac is right. They never explored how AA effects non-preferred minorities like Asians, Indians, etc. I recently read an article that Asian acceptance % went up significantly after Prop 209. This, of course, makes me think that Asians contribute significantly to the population of sacrificial lambs for Diversity.
It is funny how AA and its discrimination by race forefathers goes against our very laws. We seem to have to write more and more specific laws to stymie the people who favor discrimination by race.
14th Amendment
No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
--- Pretty clear. Although race is not mentioned specifically, we should gather that everyone deserves "equal protection of the laws" (ie: black and white). We can thank the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling for the bastardization of this particular law.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race, color, or national origin, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance.
--- Race is mentioned specifically because some people just do not seem to get it. It is there in black and white. There should no discrimination on the basis of race under any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance (yes, colleges receive federal financial assistance). We can thank Bakke v. UC Regeants for creating the whole mess we have today. Of course, some people try to rationalize that we can show preferential treatment to blacks in college admissions without violating this law (because nowhere does it read that we can not give preferential treatment based on race...we can only not discriminate based on race). So, people who believed in equality had to write another law.
Proposition 209
The state shall not discriminate against, or grant preferential treatment to, any individual or group on the basis of race, sex, color, ethnicity, or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education, or public contracting.
---As you can see, it pretty much mirrors the 1964 Civil Rights Act. It just spells it out for those people who believe preferential treatment based on race in a zero sum game is not racial discrimination. It is funny how arguements based on the 1964 Civil Rights Act couldn't end AA while this almost identical law would.
The US Constitution is the peoples' covenant with their government. Some of us take this covenant for granted and willfully violate it for our personal interests. These "living document" ideologues do not seem to understand how this society makes 200 million citizens with widely conflicting ideologies and self-interests live in relative peace. Citizens obey laws in the expectation that their neighbors will obey the same laws (equal treatment under the laws). Of course we have mechanisms in place to change unfair laws, even laws written into the covenant. If you feel certain citizens defined by race deserve special protection under our laws, than you can certainly try to change our Constitution by a 3/4 vote. Every time we say there is a compelling state interest to violate our Constitution for a dubious self-interest social benefit (ie:engineered racial diversity on college campuses), we poke another hole in the covenant. However, you must say, one little hole doesn't matter. The most powerful civilizations in history have collapsed for one reason or another. If or when the United States collapses, it will be because of all of these little holes we have poked.