I analogize affirmative action to a foot race in which one racer (in this analogy, a black
guy) has a ball and chain around their ankle. As the race goes on, the person with the ball and chain naturally falls further and further and behind, even if both racers are trying their hardest. Affirmative action’s solution is to magically teleport the guy with the ball and chain to the finish line halfway through the race and declare him the winner. This of course upsets the unfettered guy, who understandably feels he was just doing his best and is now being denied the fruits of his hard work. And the ball and chain guy still has a ball and chain around his ankle, and questions abound on all sides (including in his own mind) as to whether he “really” would have won the race if he hadn’t been teleported to the finish line.
My solution is TO CUT OFF THE FUCKING BALL AND CHAIN and then let everyone compete on a level playing field. In the educational context, this means expanding educational opportunities for underprivileged communities, and also those communities themselves recognizing and committing to the importance of working hard to get a good education. That is, promote equality of opportunity and not equality of result. Then when the guy who used to have a ball and chain around his leg wins, he won fair and square, and neither he nor anyone else can deny the legitimacy of his accomplishment. But this cannot be done entirely by outside fiat — it requires equalization of opportunity yes, but it also requires a commitment on behalf of the ball and chain guy to try as hard as he can to make the most of the opportunities presented to him.
"My solution is TO CUT OFF THE FUCKING BALL AND CHAIN..." Directionally, one couldn't agree more. Sadly, as long as opportunity itself is an outcome, equality of outcome is unattainable. IOW, some components of our balls and chains are immutable, organic, and unbreakable. IQ -- mental horsepower matters. Cultural values, such as a love for education or the value of hard work inform motivation.
As long as political power accrues to the clever, we'll be dispossessed.
I don’t consider equality of outcome to be a desirable goal at all. All I want is a reasonably level field for people to compete on, and then may the best prevail — yes, that does result in a certain unfairness, in that talent in any given field is not equally distributed by nature, but the alternative is much worse.
I analogize affirmative action to a foot race in which one racer (in this analogy, a black
guy) has a ball and chain around their ankle. As the race goes on, the person with the ball and chain naturally falls further and further and behind, even if both racers are trying their hardest. Affirmative action’s solution is to magically teleport the guy with the ball and chain to the finish line halfway through the race and declare him the winner. This of course upsets the unfettered guy, who understandably feels he was just doing his best and is now being denied the fruits of his hard work. And the ball and chain guy still has a ball and chain around his ankle, and questions abound on all sides (including in his own mind) as to whether he “really” would have won the race if he hadn’t been teleported to the finish line.
My solution is TO CUT OFF THE FUCKING BALL AND CHAIN and then let everyone compete on a level playing field. In the educational context, this means expanding educational opportunities for underprivileged communities, and also those communities themselves recognizing and committing to the importance of working hard to get a good education. That is, promote equality of opportunity and not equality of result. Then when the guy who used to have a ball and chain around his leg wins, he won fair and square, and neither he nor anyone else can deny the legitimacy of his accomplishment. But this cannot be done entirely by outside fiat — it requires equalization of opportunity yes, but it also requires a commitment on behalf of the ball and chain guy to try as hard as he can to make the most of the opportunities presented to him.
"My solution is TO CUT OFF THE FUCKING BALL AND CHAIN..." Directionally, one couldn't agree more. Sadly, as long as opportunity itself is an outcome, equality of outcome is unattainable. IOW, some components of our balls and chains are immutable, organic, and unbreakable. IQ -- mental horsepower matters. Cultural values, such as a love for education or the value of hard work inform motivation.
As long as political power accrues to the clever, we'll be dispossessed.
I don’t consider equality of outcome to be a desirable goal at all. All I want is a reasonably level field for people to compete on, and then may the best prevail — yes, that does result in a certain unfairness, in that talent in any given field is not equally distributed by nature, but the alternative is much worse.