[JoeSF]

Somebody asked why asians aren't counted as minorities for affirmitive action. This raises the question in my mind as to why only predominately white countries are so concerned about race?
How come there isn't any affirmitive action for Koreans in Japan , Tibetans in China, Blacks in Mexico, etc. or even anyone else in Africa? How about India? All these places practice discrimination. In Africa its mostly based on tribal origins. Is affirmitive action exclusively an idea put forth by white people to help who they percieve to be minorities? Is what defines a minority here more about economic power than race?
I know outside the US such programs exist in Australia and Canada. I'm not sure about Europe. So that's my main question,
Is affirmitive action exclusively a white idea?

[SteelyDan]

John Leo's column in the current U.S. News cites a recent survey by Harvard University, the Washington Post, and some group I'm not familiar with, which found that "Only 5 percent said race and ethnicity should be taken into account... Black opinion was 7 to 1 against preferences." Now, any statistic should always be taken with a grain of salt, but these are surprising conclusions coming from such liberal organizations.

I think most people, regardless of race, believe that affirmative action is an idea whose time has passed. Fortunately, liberal apologists, academic elites, and the mainstream media know better than we do, and they will keep the idea alive. :banghead:

[nemesis]

Affirmative Action is the expression of guilt for the success of the European/Caucasian race. We are now expected to publicly humiliate ourselves for the perceived injustices of the past.

Have you noticed how successful former colonies are now that they have thrown off the burden of the oppressing European Imperialists? Or have you just noticed that they slaughter each other by the thousands.

We have Black Appreciation Month, Hispanic Scholarship Funds, Black Congressional Caucus, La Raza, Black Entertainment Television and MecHa but you racist "white people" still expect equality. Will you ever learn?

[TheBluesMan]

Affirmative Action is a boondoggle created by liberals in an attempt to assuage their collective middle-class white guilt. They believe in giving "opportunity" to others by keeping it from themselves.
Waddaya think about that!?!

[Art Eatman]

AA was part of LBJ's Great Society package of Civil Rights programs. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Job Corps, etc. Voting Rights Act, and the Constitutional Amendment repealing the Poll Tax. This was all 1964-1968.

During Senate debate, pro-gun Liberal Democrat Hubert Humphrey said that if AA ever resulted in quotas, he'd eat the paper on which the legislation was written. Fortunately for him, he died before that problem arose...

Art

[Bahadur]

Actually, the so-called affirmative action is not uniquely American or European (or "white"). Malaysia has a form of affirmative action. Because its economy has been dominated by its industrious Chinese minority, the Malaysian government has instituted a formalized system of "affirmative action" for Malays for "equality of opportunity."

Likewise, various Indian state governments have similar systems for the Untouchables and other lower-caste members.

South Africa, too, has such a system to "open up" the opportunities for "blacks" (and to a lesser extent for the "coloreds") since so much of the economy is still "dominated" by "whites."

In all three cases, the process of "affirmative action" is in reality driven by political considerations, rather than the supposed "equal opportunity for all" principle.

[Ed Brunner]

In all three cases, the process of "affirmative action" is in reality driven by political considerations, rather than the supposed "equal opportunity for all" principle

A good argument could be made to include our own AA program in that definition.

[Viking6]

"AA was part of LBJ's Great Society package of Civil Rights programs. "

Didn't Affirmative Action come about under Nixon's watch?

And I think AA is no longer relative and has run its course but the injustices of the past were not perceived they were real. I say that as a white, Southern male and I remember discrimination in my youth. We were wrong, we corrected it (as much as humanly possible and not voluntarily), let's move on.

[Bahadur]

Ed Brunner:
In all three cases, the process of "affirmative action" is in reality driven by political considerations, rather than the supposed "equal opportunity for all" principle

A good argument could be made to include our own AA program in that definition.Ding!