The Entire Application Process Has Made Me Hate Being A White Male!!!

[Skum Bagg]

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Why couldn't I have been born a black, hispanic woman with a native American Grandfather?

 

[microman]

try being asian!

 

[sdnstud]

Asian Male from CA

try being asian!

 

[Skum Bagg]

try being asian!

You're right or Indian (South Asian); that's really gotta blow! My apologies, I didn't think about you guys.

Overheard at Ad Com Meeting:

Ad Com Person #1: "How about Michael Chang?"

Ad Com Person #2: "He's not legacy and he's got a 33 on MCAT."

Ad Com Person #1: "You're right, what was I thinking?"

 

[dopaminophile]

What an easy thing to blame it on given how many countless other ways there are to make yourself exceptional. If you didn't get in, it's not just because of your race.

*I know this post is a bad idea cause this thread isn't just going to ****, it started out here and I'm adding to it, but I just keep on typing. And yes, I'm a white, middle class male too.*

 

[lakersfan]

Yes, being Indian sucks in this process...especially since I believe we are the largest group in med school after white people. Oh well...I guess life isn't always fair.

 

[liverotcod]

Why couldn't I have been born a black, hispanic woman with a native American Grandfather?

You still can! With URM-Rebirth(TM), you too can become any one of the three underrepresented minorities--even mix and match!-- and assure your acceptance into the medical school of your choice. Just five minutes a day, 3 times a week can lead to the fantastic future you thought impossible for someone with your weak-ass numbers. Visit ww.scapegoat.com today for more information.

😉

 

[~~premed82~~]

It's just easier to BLAME other's for one's own short-commings, than it is to just step up to the plate! 😛

What an easy thing to blame it on given how many countless other ways there are to make yourself exceptional. If you didn't get in, it's not just because of your race.

*I know this post is a bad idea cause this thread isn't just going to ****, it started out here and I'm adding to it, but I just keep on typing. And yes, I'm a white, middle class male too.*

 

[beep]

it's not like this process has been easy for any of us.

 

[Biscuit799]

You think it's bad now, just wait until you try to apply for scholarships.

 

[tchantel21]

With all due respect (and I mean that sincerely), I and others like me [im a black female] have had many days where we thought it would be convenient and beneficial to be a white male.
Believe it or not, institutional policies that may seem to give minorities the advantage do more evening of the playing field than anything else. It is not a matter of unqualified minorities taking spots from from the qualified "majority"; it is a matter of qualified minorities getting spots that they have been denied in the past because of their race. Racism in educational and professional arenas did and does exist. This is a proven fact.

 

[llort]

waitlist=whitelist

DO schools reak of average white males. see you at the COMLEX!!

 

[Tra La La]

With all due respect (and I mean that sincerely), I and others like me [im a black female] have had many days where we thought it would be convenient and beneficial to be a white male.
Believe it or not, institutional policies that may seem to give minorities the advantage do more evening of the playing field than anything else. It is not a matter of unqualified minorities taking spots from from the qualified "majority"; it is a matter of qualified minorities getting spots that they have been denied in the past because of their race. Racism in educational and professional arenas did and does exist. This is a proven fact.

👍 👍 👍

 

[cheapdate]

Why couldn't I have been born a black, hispanic woman with a native American Grandfather?

What make you think you can make it this far in the education ladder if you were born black, hispanic woman with a native American Grandfather? dingus

 

[Loco Loki]

With all due respect (and I mean that sincerely), I and others like me [im a black female] have had many days where we thought it would be convenient and beneficial to be a white male.
Believe it or not, institutional policies that may seem to give minorities the advantage do more evening of the playing field than anything else. It is not a matter of unqualified minorities taking spots from from the qualified "majority"; it is a matter of qualified minorities getting spots that they have been denied in the past because of their race. Racism in educational and professional arenas did and does exist. This is a proven fact.

The seats should go to the best people; medicine should not be an arena for social experiments or reparations. It's too important to let less qualified applicants in just because of what they were born as. I don't think anyone cares how much you were oppressed, they just want the best care. And letting in someone just because they were discriminated against does not equal good care.

With that said, I know PLENTY of URMS who work their asses off to get good stats/publications/whathaveyou. This system also discriminates against them in that there will always be jackasses who say "They only got in because they were such-and-such race", and they need to work to "prove themselves." (well, if they care) But anyway, it's like assuming URMs are naturally lower, and they need a boost up. Numerous people come from third world countries with not a bloody red cent and work their way to the top. If someone really wants something, they will get it. This URM nonsense is both discriminatory to the non-URMs and the URMs, and also jepordizes patient care in extreme incidences. Again, medicine should solely focus on what is good for that patient, not trying to fix social injustices.

 

[Tra La La]

The seats should go to the best people; medicine should not be an arena for social experiments or reparations. It's too important to let less qualified applicants in just because of what they were born as. I don't think anyone cares how much you were oppressed, they just want the best care. And letting in someone just because they were discriminated against does not equal good care.

Methinks the issue is a little more complicated than this.

 

[beep]

With all due respect (and I mean that sincerely), I and others like me [im a black female] have had many days where we thought it would be convenient and beneficial to be a white male.
Believe it or not, institutional policies that may seem to give minorities the advantage do more evening of the playing field than anything else. It is not a matter of unqualified minorities taking spots from from the qualified "majority"; it is a matter of qualified minorities getting spots that they have been denied in the past because of their race. Racism in educational and professional arenas did and does exist. This is a proven fact.

hear, hear

 

[kidgorgeous]

quote(there will always be jackasses who say "They only got in because they were such-and-such race)
These people can lick my *uts any given day.

 

[AStudent]

Don't hate the game, hate the playa. (yes, I said that right)

If you get a 40S and a 3.95 you'll get into medical school regardless of race.

As Chris Rock said: "I have a problem giving a underqualified minority a position over a qualified non-minority. But if there's a tie.......**** 'em, they had a 200 HUNDRED YEAR head start." 👍

 

[Tra La La]

As Chris Rock said: "I have a problem giving a underqualified minority a position over a qualified non-minority. But if there's a tie.......**** 'em, they had a 200 HUNDRED YEAR head start."

Ah....Chris Rock.

The preeminent philosopher of our era. 👍

 

[Blue Scrub]

Don't hate the game, hate the playa. (yes, I said that right)

If you get a 40S and a 3.95 you'll get into medical school regardless of race.

As Chris Rock said: "I have a problem giving a underqualified minority a position over a qualified non-minority. But if there's a tie.......**** 'em, they had a 200 HUNDRED YEAR head start." 👍

Well its good med schools have the interview part, because even with those stats, you aint gettin in if you dont have a personality, bottom line!

 

[Blue Scrub]

The seats should go to the best people; medicine should not be an arena for social experiments or reparations. It's too important to let less qualified applicants in just because of what they were born as. I don't think anyone cares how much you were oppressed, they just want the best care. And letting in someone just because they were discriminated against does not equal good care.

With that said, I know PLENTY of URMS who work their asses off to get good stats/publications/whathaveyou. This system also discriminates against them in that there will always be jackasses who say "They only got in because they were such-and-such race", and they need to work to "prove themselves." (well, if they care) But anyway, it's like assuming URMs are naturally lower, and they need a boost up. Numerous people come from third world countries with not a bloody red cent and work their way to the top. If someone really wants something, they will get it. This URM nonsense is both discriminatory to the non-URMs and the URMs, and also jepordizes patient care in extreme incidences. Again, medicine should solely focus on what is good for that patient, not trying to fix social injustices.

Like Tra La La says, it is a little more complicated than that....I dont want to go into all the examples, but medicine needs diversity and needs more than just robots with 40 and 4.0 stats.......they may be the smartest, but that def does not automatically mean they will be good doctors....I totally sympathize with non-URMs in the fact that it seems unfair when someone with totally lower stats gets in and they dont, but if you are qualified, you will get in eventually.....

 

[The Remix]

This soon-to-be-closed thread reminds me of how one-sided people view heroes in African American history such as Dr. King. Affirmative Action opponents are quick to point out his dream of a "colorblind society" to claim reverse-discrimination but they totally forget about his call for redistribution of wealth in this country.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

The seats should go to the best people; medicine should not be an arena for social experiments or reparations. It's too important to let less qualified applicants in just because of what they were born as. I don't think anyone cares how much you were oppressed, they just want the best care. And letting in someone just because they were discriminated against does not equal good care.

With that said, I know PLENTY of URMS who work their asses off to get good stats/publications/whathaveyou. This system also discriminates against them in that there will always be jackasses who say "They only got in because they were such-and-such race", and they need to work to "prove themselves." (well, if they care) But anyway, it's like assuming URMs are naturally lower, and they need a boost up. Numerous people come from third world countries with not a bloody red cent and work their way to the top. If someone really wants something, they will get it. This URM nonsense is both discriminatory to the non-URMs and the URMs, and also jepordizes patient care in extreme incidences. Again, medicine should solely focus on what is good for that patient, not trying to fix social injustices.

👍 👍 👍

 

[Psycho Doctor]

Don't hate the game, hate the playa. (yes, I said that right)

If you get a 40S and a 3.95 you'll get into medical school regardless of race.

As Chris Rock said: "I have a problem giving a underqualified minority a position over a qualified non-minority. But if there's a tie.......**** 'em, they had a 200 HUNDRED YEAR head start." 👍

ok i can agree with that...just give it to the more qualified when there is one

 

[EvoDevo]

You still can! With URM-Rebirth(TM), you too can become any one of the three underrepresented minorities--even mix and match!-- and assure your acceptance into the medical school of your choice. Just five minutes a day, 3 times a week can lead to the fantastic future you thought impossible for someone with your weak-ass numbers. Visit ww.scapegoat.com today for more information.

😉

Best post this month. 👍

 

[The Remix]

The seats should go to the best people; medicine should not be an arena for social experiments or reparations. It's too important to let less qualified applicants in just because of what they were born as. I don't think anyone cares how much you were oppressed, they just want the best care. And letting in someone just because they were discriminated against does not equal good care.

With that said, I know PLENTY of URMS who work their asses off to get good stats/publications/whathaveyou. This system also discriminates against them in that there will always be jackasses who say "They only got in because they were such-and-such race", and they need to work to "prove themselves." (well, if they care) But anyway, it's like assuming URMs are naturally lower, and they need a boost up. Numerous people come from third world countries with not a bloody red cent and work their way to the top. If someone really wants something, they will get it. This URM nonsense is both discriminatory to the non-URMs and the URMs, and also jepordizes patient care in extreme incidences. Again, medicine should solely focus on what is good for that patient, not trying to fix social injustices.

A couple of mislead points, my friend:
1) Do not be fooled by the sparse examples of success stories. I'm happy for Colin Powell, Oprah, and Clarence Thomas, but the simple reality is that these are extremes--and nothing more. James Baldwin says "the oppression of many is in no way justified by the rise of a few." Though its nice and romantic to think if you want something you'll get it, it doesn;t work that way.
2) Don't fall into the trap of thinking that affirmative action helps out unqualified URMs. A medical school will not accept anyone that they feel is not qualified for they make huge investments that they want realized. For any URM who may be accepted with stats lower than the average, there are some White and Asian students who have comparable stats, yet received preferential treatment becasue they were the child of a faculty member, had ties to political clout (i.e. John Kerry's daughter at HMS with less-than-avg- stats), etc. The truth is no-one can say such and such got into such and such school because they were such and such. URMs with higher-than-average stats get rejected to as do Whites and Asians with lower-than-average stats.

 

[VPDcurt]

With all due respect (and I mean that sincerely), I and others like me [im a black female] have had many days where we thought it would be convenient and beneficial to be a white male.
Believe it or not, institutional policies that may seem to give minorities the advantage do more evening of the playing field than anything else. It is not a matter of unqualified minorities taking spots from from the qualified "majority"; it is a matter of qualified minorities getting spots that they have been denied in the past because of their race. Racism in educational and professional arenas did and does exist. This is a proven fact.

I'm all for AA in terms of getting into undergrad because there are so many spots that you will get in somewhere anyway. However, when it comes to med school admissions, it doesn't make any sense. A black student at Harvard has the same opportunity as a white person at Harvard. Why is a 25 MCAT from a URM at Harvard equal to a 32 MCAT from a white person at Harvard? It is so stupid and contradictory. Enough already.

A conversation of a black girl (med student) speaking with my a surgeon who's son was applying to med school (this is not made up - I heard it with my own ears):

Girl: "How did your son do on the MCAT?"
Doctor: "He got a 31R."
Girl: "He'll definitely get into University of ________. I got in and I had a 22."

Such denial.

 

[VPDcurt]

James Baldwin says "the oppression of many is in no way justified by the rise of a few."

Haha - tell that to the liberals.

2) Don't fall into the trap of thinking that affirmative action helps out unqualified URMs. A medical school will not accept anyone that they feel is not qualified for they make huge investments that they want realized. For any URM who may be accepted with stats lower than the average, there are some White and Asian students who have comparable stats, yet received preferential treatment becasue they were the child of a faculty member, had ties to political clout (i.e. John Kerry's daughter at HMS with less-than-avg- stats), etc. The truth is no-one can say such and such got into such and such school because they were such and such. URMs with higher-than-average stats get rejected to as do Whites and Asians with lower-than-average stats.

AA is not the same thing as legacy. Legacy assumes that at some point, a family member earned something through hard work. AA blankets all minorities with benefits regardless of whether or not they earn it. AA just serves to enable minorities much like welfare.

 

[45408]

You think it's bad now, just wait until you try to apply for scholarships.

I have - but this time around, I'm going to get them. I've got everything but the gender and race, so they won't hold me down this time!

 

[The Remix]

AA is not the same thing as legacy. Legacy assumes that at some point, a family member earned something through hard work. AA blankets all minorities with benefits regardless of whether or not they earn it. AA just serves to enable minorities much like welfare.

I didn't see anywhere in my post where I said AA was the same as legacy. But since you want to press this, lets go:

Legacy assumes that at some point, a family member earned something through hard work.

So I guess getting sprayed by fire hoses and attacked by Russian Shepards just didn't quite qualify as "hard work," huh? Anyway, in the case of legacy what did the child of the alumnus do to "earn something"? I guess you win the lotto when x sperm fertilizes y egg and z person is born but I don't see where this qualifies z person to receive preferential treatment in the admissions process insamuch as affirmative action gives preferential treatment to children who's families were denied the right in the first place.

AA blankets all minorities with benefits regardless of whether or not they earn it.

So I guess children of alumni are somehow distinguished from one another as far as to who truly "deserves" the special consideration?

AA just serves to enable minorities much like welfare.

Funny how you try to use welfare as a point of departure for enabling minorities when the primary beneficiaries are whites.

Come correct if you're coming

 

[cfdavid]

Is there really an openly admitted 'Legacy' policy at some schools?? If so, that's bullsh..t.

 

[Psycho Doctor]

I'm all for AA in terms of getting into undergrad because there are so many spots that you will get in somewhere anyway. However, when it comes to med school admissions, it doesn't make any sense. A black student at Harvard has the same opportunity as a white person at Harvard. Why is a 25 MCAT from a URM at Harvard equal to a 32 MCAT from a white person at Harvard? It is so stupid and contradictory. Enough already.

A conversation of a black girl (med student) speaking with my a surgeon who's son was applying to med school (this is not made up - I heard it with my own ears):

Girl: "How did your son do on the MCAT?"
Doctor: "He got a 31R."
Girl: "He'll definitely get into University of ________. I got in and I had a 22."

Such denial.

i don't even agree with that as it exists. i believe the playing field should be evened out for those who were not given the same opportunities...whether they are black, white, red, yellow pink or blue. I don't believe any special considerations should be given to the black kid from Beverly Hills driving his BMW just b/c he is black.

 

[VPDcurt]

I didn't see anywhere in my post where I said AA was the same as legacy. But since you want to press this, lets go:

So I guess getting sprayed by fire hoses and attacked by Russian Shepards just didn't quite qualify as "hard work," huh?

That doesn't mean that a URM earned anything. The past is the past. What happened was terrible. However, I didn't spray anyone with fire hoses and you didn't get sprayed by a fire hose. How much longer are URMs going to victimize themselves?

Anyway, in the case of legacy what did the child of the alumnus do to "earn something"? I guess you win the lotto when x sperm fertilizes y egg and z person is born but I don't see where this qualifies z person to receive preferential treatment in the admissions process insamuch as affirmative action gives preferential treatment to children who's families were denied the right in the first place.

So I guess children of alumni are somehow distinguished from one another as far as to who truly "deserves" the special consideration?

Legacy shouldn't be the only factor or even a major factor, but if there is a "tie," it should go to the person with legacy.

Funny how you try to use welfare as a point of departure for enabling minorities when the primary beneficiaries are whites.

Numberwise...yes. Percentagewise....Nope.

Come correct if you're coming

Just don't come at all unless you are willing to accept capitalism (aka the USA).

 

[VPDcurt]

i don't even agree with that as it exists. i believe the playing field should be evened out for those who were not given the same opportunities...whether they are black, white, red, yellow pink or blue. I don't believe any special considerations should be given to the black kid from Beverly Hills driving his BMW just b/c he is black.

Yeah I totally agree with you on this one. However, I am willing to give them AA for undergrad for the reason I stated. It is absolutely insane for med school admissions when the number of spots are so limited.

 

[funshine]

whatever. you guys get plenty of advantages in other areas of life.
for ex, i remember reading an article that said white males are still the most sought after, whereas asian guys are the most unwanted in that category.

So feel sorry for the asian guys 🙁

 

[The Remix]

That doesn't mean that a URM earned anything. The past is the past. What happened was terrible. However, I didn't spray anyone with fire hoses and you didn't get sprayed by a fire hose. How much longer are URMs going to victimize themselves?

I'm not trying to make you feel bad because of what happened. However, you seem to think that because our generation had no direct involvement in it that the ship has been righted. Don't confuse victimology with knowing the past and how it affects the present. If you don't think those images and the context they arose out of are not affecting the present day reality of many people of color, then I can't blame you. Hell, even I believed it until I started learning more about it and reading scholars such as Cornel West and W.E.B. Du Bois.

Legacy shouldn't be the only factor or even a major factor, but if there is a "tie," it should go to the person with legacy.

Such a strong statement with no supporting argument. Even I don't ponder who is more worthy of preferential treatment than who. All I'm saying is that if one group is going to benefit by legacy than another should benefit by being historically denied the opportunity to even establish a legacy. All you have to do is go to any medical school and look at the class portraits from say the early 1960s and earlier. I'm not abstracting some idealistic notion here.

Numberwise...yes. Percentagewise....Nope.

Percentages are higher because a higher percentage is POOR! Anyway, I grew up on welfare. It enabled me and my family to eat, not help better prepare me for college and medschool, how is welfare empowering?

Just don't come at all unless you are willing to accept capitalism (aka the USA).

Capitalism is fine, I love it! However, only when it's reasonably fair. What I don't accept is 200 years of free labor! Under capitalism this is what you would call a "debt."

 

[AStudent]

lim (this thread) = deleted
time--> unity

 

[visualwealth]

As a white male it will be easier for you to relate to those who write letters of rec in med school since they are all GASP white... In all honesty since the country in controlled by white men you have a huge advantage there... There are around 1000 black and 1000 latino people in med school... That is very very low considering their proportion in this country. Finally, I was looking at pictures of the incoming class of several schools and trust me there is no diversity in medical school just tokenism.

Good luck

 

[aumed22]

Let's be honest, in today's society AA should not be based upon race, it should be based upon socioeconomic status. I had a friend who grew up in the same neighborhood as I did, attended the same good public schools, went to a good undergrad, and was accepted to Duke, with stats that weren't stellar at all. He'll tell you the only reason he got in was because he was black. Was he discriminated against growing up? He doesn't think so. He grew up in a great upper middle class family and a great neighborhood, with great friends of all colors. To base AA soley on race is outdated, it needs to based on socioeconomic status, as those are the people that need help. AND it needs to be implemented at a much earlier time than graduate school. By that time the damage is done, more than 50% of those in the lower socieoeconomic class have quit school. Implement AA in elementary school and to those people that need it.

 

[trauma_junky]

Capitalism is fine, I love it! However, only when it's reasonably fair. What I don't accept is 200 years of free labor! Under capitalism this is what you would call a "debt."

Revisionist history is great and handy isn't it. The real capialist were the warring black tribes that sold the slaves to the white man. hmm... Not saying it is right, but they were capitalist seeing a demand and providing a supply. But if you look hard at this area, it's the Jewish that have the real axe to grind.

 

[The Remix]

Let's be honest, in today's society AA should not be based upon race, it should be based upon socioeconomic status. I had a friend who grew up in the same neighborhood as I did, attended the same good public schools, went to a good undergrad, and was accepted to Duke, with stats that weren't stellar at all. He'll tell you the only reason he got in was because he was black. Was he discriminated against growing up? He doesn't think so. He grew up in a great upper middle class family and a great neighborhood, with great friends of all colors. To base AA soley on race is outdated, it needs to based on socioeconomic status, as those are the people that need help. AND it needs to be implemented at a much earlier time than graduate school. By that time the damage is done, more than 50% of those in the lower socieoeconomic class have quit school. Implement AA in elementary school and to those people that need it.

I don't quite understand what you mean by AA in elementary school. Not only is elementary ed. free--it's mandatory in all of the states.

 

[trauma_junky]

I don't quite understand what you mean by AA in elementary school. Not only is elementary ed. free--it's mandatory in all of the states.

 

[pakidoc]

whatever. you guys get plenty of advantages in other areas of life.
for ex, i remember reading an article that said white males are still the most sought after, whereas asian guys are the most unwanted in that category.

So feel sorry for the asian guys 🙁

very true

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

Let's be honest, in today's society AA should not be based upon race, it should be based upon socioeconomic status. I had a friend who grew up in the same neighborhood as I did, attended the same good public schools, went to a good undergrad, and was accepted to Duke, with stats that weren't stellar at all. He'll tell you the only reason he got in was because he was black. Was he discriminated against growing up? He doesn't think so. He grew up in a great upper middle class family and a great neighborhood, with great friends of all colors. To base AA soley on race is outdated, it needs to based on socioeconomic status, as those are the people that need help. AND it needs to be implemented at a much earlier time than graduate school. By that time the damage is done, more than 50% of those in the lower socieoeconomic class have quit school. Implement AA in elementary school and to those people that need it.

Excellent post. I entirely agree!

 

[The Remix]

Revisionist history is great and handy isn't it. The real capialist were the warring black tribes that sold the slaves to the white man. hmm... Not saying it is right, but they were capitalist seeing a demand and providing a supply. But if you look hard at this area, it's the Jewish that have the real axe to grind.

I know about the Dahomey and the Ashanti tribes on the coast of Western Africa. But that guy was talking about the US. Interior Africans, as a commidity, passed from rich royal African capitalists to European capitalists. One set put forth what must have to be the perfect money making machine while the other was colonized. They were both capitalists and equally share the blame. The problem is the commodity that is what African labor has changed form so many times and though so many hands that it's nearly impossible to determine who owe's the "debt." However, that doesn't mean one isn't owed.

 

[mercaptovizadeh]

There are a number of issues that annoy me here. There is a whole racial spectrum here, and it is only on the basis of black vs. white that people are getting special status.

My parents immigrated to the United States from a country in Eastern Europe, nearly 30 years ago. Not only did they have NOTHING to do with US slave/discrimination history, neither did their ethnicity; in fact, they came from a region that has historically been oppressed by outside empires.

Why should I be held accountable for something that happened two hundred years ago in the U.S.? And why should some kid who's parents immigrated from Nigeria 15 years ago get special status when neither he nor his parents nor his ancestors were ever oppressed in any way in this country?

Quite simply, AA should be based on socioeconomics, not race. The black community has been ghettoized and has further ghettoized itself (but I must admit, this mostly due to white discrimination), and a subculture has developed in which fathers are often absent, mother's have to run the show single handedly, doing three jobs (or on welfare), so there is really no-one to push the kids in their education. Furthermore, kids that actually do well in school or in the arts are labeled as "acting white" by their black peers. I understand that this is rooted in history and that there's no one to blame now, but the culture has to be changed.

Affirmative Action for blacks at higher levels of education, particularly grad school, does nothing but demean them in the eyes of their white colleagues, who suspect that they did not really attain their position by merit alone. The key is to work with the socioeconomically downtrodden (black, white, hispanic, etc.) at the early stage - kindergarten - and do the best to make the school a partial substitute for what the family should be doing, and hopefully this would stop the bad patterns that are occurring in some of the minority communities.

 

[Dr Wannabee]

I didn't see anywhere in my post where I said AA was the same as legacy. But since you want to press this, lets go:

"So I guess getting sprayed by fire hoses and attacked by Russian Shepards just didn't quite qualify as "hard work," huh?" .

First of all you were never sprayed by fire hoses or attacked by dogs so the fact that you are trying to compare your experience with blacks in the 60's is pretty dispicable and ignorant.

 

[The Remix]

There are a number of issues that annoy me here. There is a whole racial spectrum here, and it is only on the basis of black vs. white that people are getting special status.

My parents immigrated to the United States from a country in Eastern Europe, nearly 30 years ago. Not only did they have NOTHING to do with US slave/discrimination history, neither did their ethnicity; in fact, they came from a region that has historically been oppressed by outside empires.

Why should I be held accountable for something that happened two hundred years ago in the U.S.? And why should some kid who's parents immigrated from Nigeria 15 years ago get special status when neither he nor his parents nor his ancestors were ever oppressed in any way in this country?

Quite simply, AA should be based on socioeconomics, not race. The black community has been ghettoized and has further ghettoized itself (but I must admit, this mostly due to white discrimination), and a subculture has developed in which fathers are often absent, mother's have to run the show single handedly, doing three jobs (or on welfare), so there is really no-one to push the kids in their education. Furthermore, kids that actually do well in school or in the arts are labeled as "acting white" by their black peers. I understand that this is rooted in history and that there's no one to blame now, but the culture has to be changed.

Affirmative Action for blacks at higher levels of education, particularly grad school, does nothing but demean them in the eyes of their white colleagues, who suspect that they did not really attain their position by merit alone. The key is to work with the socioeconomically downtrodden (black, white, hispanic, etc.) at the early stage - kindergarten - and do the best to make the school a partial substitute for what the family should be doing, and hopefully this would stop the bad patterns that are occurring in some of the minority communities.

I like your argument. No person or individual is responsible, it is society's burden. Though your parents had nothing to do with any of the ills of US history, you and their tax dollars still support recompensation efforts given to Native Americans, Japenese Americans detained in WW2, and (most recently) Jewish survivors and their children of the Holocaust. Reparations for the black community is not a form of punishment for your parents and others who had no direct involvement. No one in their right mind is advocating government checks for whoever fits the definition of black. It would come in the form of revitalization and renovation of schools in trouble by Bush's NCLB that are in poor communities, white, black, hispanic, whathaveyou. Also, efforts to build affordable housing and adequate public services. The next time you're in DC take a ride down the Anocostia River towards Southwest and you'll see what I'm talking about. We're trying to fix the social decay here.

 

[The Remix]

First of all you were never sprayed by fire hoses or attacked by dogs so the fact that you are trying to compare your experience with blacks in the 60's is pretty dispicable and ignorant.

You completely missed the point of that historical reference. It was refuting the notion that legacy parents fought for something that their children should benefit from while those who fought for Civil Rights (and, thus AA) did not. I was showing that AA was not given out but was fought for tooth and nail just as many whites may have had to fight to reach it to the top so that their kids may benefit from legacy admisisons. To say that AA action was given out and not fought for is a gross travesty to all human decency.

If you are going to attack my character, at least get the context of my remarks right. Stop jumping the gun and think instead of being so reactionary.