10.24.06
Posted in politics at 10:01 pm by Brandon
If you’d rather not read the rest of this message, here’s the punchline: Vote “no” on proposal 2. Now, go tell your friends to vote no on proposal 2. Okay, you’re now free to go about your business.
Okay, now that we’ve gotten those only mildly committed to reading the drivel I, seemingly semi-annually, toss out into the great wide open of cyberspace, I can have a heart to heart with the rest of you. At least the rest of you who live in Michigan or care to hear about a Michigan election issue.
Perhaps some folks have heard of Proposal 2, perhaps not. This proposal has been titled the “Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.” Sounds great, right? Civil rights, freedom from oppression, social justice, well, that’s what they’d have you think anyway. What the Michigan “Civil Rights” Initiative is about is abolishing affirmative action.
…*silence*…
What’s that? You don’t like Affirmative Action?
Well, first let me dispell a few myths about affirmative action:
1. Affirmative action was first coined by Kennedy in 1961 when he said that government funded entities who were recieving federal dollars because they claimed to value diversity should be making affirmative action toward finding, recruiting, and retaining underrepresented groups (including women and minorities).
2. You heard me right, it’s not all about black vs. white. Women–well, white women anyway–were actually the first real beneficiaries of affirmative action. Of course, the truth is the workforce (males included) benefitted from greater female representation in the workforce–so to say that women were the first beneficiaries of affirmative action is incomplete.
3. Affirmative action affects government funded entities. All those horror stories you’ve heard about a black high school student getting into Harvard with a 22 ACT score–whether it’s true or not, it has nothing, absolutely NOTHING, to do with affirmative action. Harvard is private.
4. Affirmative action does NOT support the hiring of unqualified candidates just to make a quota. If you’re a white man and you’ve been told by an employer that you weren’t hired in favor of a lesser qualified minority or woman just to make a quota, either you’ve been lied to or the employer didn’t understand affirmative action.
Affirmative action IS about seeking to actively create a diverse environment through open and affirming hiring practices.
The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative seeks to ban any affirmative action program. The law of the state of Michigan as set forth in the Michigan constitution allows for discrimination with regard to race in order that a reasonably valid going concern is met by such discrimination. That is, if we use race to increase diversity–which shows all sorts of benefits to things like cognitive complexity and decision making–it has to be because it does show a reasonable number of these benefits.
A PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO BAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS THAT GIVE PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT TO GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALS BASED ON THEIR RACE, GENDER, COLOR, ETHNICITY OR NATIONAL ORIGIN FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION OR CONTRACTING PURPOSES
The proposed constitutional amendment would:
•Ban public institutions from using affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin for public employment, education or contracting purposes. Public institutions affected by the proposal include state government, local governments, public colleges and universities, community colleges and school districts.
•Prohibit public institutions from discriminating against groups or individuals due to their gender, ethnicity, race, color or national origin. (A separate provision of the state constitution already prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin.)
The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative seeks to ban any racial preferences EVEN IF THEY PROVIDE FOR BENEFITS TO ALL OF HUMANITY. This is stupid.
There is bi-partisan agreement that this initiative sucks ass. Even Republican man-lover Dick DeVos (Michigan Gubernatiorial-unlikely-but-hopeful) says that this initiative sucks. And Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm has agreed that we should all VOTE NO ON PROPOSAL 2.
Please vote no on 2. But, more importantly, tell your friends. Send them here if you have to do so. If a George Bush-loving Republican can agree with his Democratic opponent (in an election year, no less) that the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative is no good, IT REALLY MUST BE NO GOOD!
Tags: Proposal 2, Michigan, Elections, Politics, DeVos, Granholm, Affirmative Action, Michigan Civil Rights Initiative
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Posted in politics at 10:01 pm by Brandon
If you’d rather not read the rest of this message, here’s the punchline: Vote “no” on proposal 2. Now, go tell your friends to vote no on proposal 2. Okay, you’re now free to go about your business.
Okay, now that we’ve gotten those only mildly committed to reading the drivel I, seemingly semi-annually, toss out into the great wide open of cyberspace, I can have a heart to heart with the rest of you. At least the rest of you who live in Michigan or care to hear about a Michigan election issue.
Perhaps some folks have heard of Proposal 2, perhaps not. This proposal has been titled the “Michigan Civil Rights Initiative.” Sounds great, right? Civil rights, freedom from oppression, social justice, well, that’s what they’d have you think anyway. What the Michigan “Civil Rights” Initiative is about is abolishing affirmative action.
…*silence*…
What’s that? You don’t like Affirmative Action?
Well, first let me dispell a few myths about affirmative action:
1. Affirmative action was first coined by Kennedy in 1961 when he said that government funded entities who were recieving federal dollars because they claimed to value diversity should be making affirmative action toward finding, recruiting, and retaining underrepresented groups (including women and minorities).
2. You heard me right, it’s not all about black vs. white. Women–well, white women anyway–were actually the first real beneficiaries of affirmative action. Of course, the truth is the workforce (males included) benefitted from greater female representation in the workforce–so to say that women were the first beneficiaries of affirmative action is incomplete.
3. Affirmative action affects government funded entities. All those horror stories you’ve heard about a black high school student getting into Harvard with a 22 ACT score–whether it’s true or not, it has nothing, absolutely NOTHING, to do with affirmative action. Harvard is private.
4. Affirmative action does NOT support the hiring of unqualified candidates just to make a quota. If you’re a white man and you’ve been told by an employer that you weren’t hired in favor of a lesser qualified minority or woman just to make a quota, either you’ve been lied to or the employer didn’t understand affirmative action.
Affirmative action IS about seeking to actively create a diverse environment through open and affirming hiring practices.
The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative seeks to ban any affirmative action program. The law of the state of Michigan as set forth in the Michigan constitution allows for discrimination with regard to race in order that a reasonably valid going concern is met by such discrimination. That is, if we use race to increase diversity–which shows all sorts of benefits to things like cognitive complexity and decision making–it has to be because it does show a reasonable number of these benefits.
A PROPOSAL TO AMEND THE STATE CONSTITUTION TO BAN AFFIRMATIVE ACTION PROGRAMS THAT GIVE PREFERENTIAL TREATMENT TO GROUPS OR INDIVIDUALS BASED ON THEIR RACE, GENDER, COLOR, ETHNICITY OR NATIONAL ORIGIN FOR PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION OR CONTRACTING PURPOSES
The proposed constitutional amendment would:
•Ban public institutions from using affirmative action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin for public employment, education or contracting purposes. Public institutions affected by the proposal include state government, local governments, public colleges and universities, community colleges and school districts.
•Prohibit public institutions from discriminating against groups or individuals due to their gender, ethnicity, race, color or national origin. (A separate provision of the state constitution already prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin.)
The Michigan Civil Rights Initiative seeks to ban any racial preferences EVEN IF THEY PROVIDE FOR BENEFITS TO ALL OF HUMANITY. This is stupid.
There is bi-partisan agreement that this initiative sucks ass. Even Republican man-lover Dick DeVos (Michigan Gubernatiorial-unlikely-but-hopeful) says that this initiative sucks. And Democratic Governor Jennifer Granholm has agreed that we should all VOTE NO ON PROPOSAL 2.
Please vote no on 2. But, more importantly, tell your friends. Send them here if you have to do so. If a George Bush-loving Republican can agree with his Democratic opponent (in an election year, no less) that the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative is no good, IT REALLY MUST BE NO GOOD!
Tags: Proposal 2, Michigan, Elections, Politics, DeVos, Granholm, Affirmative Action, Michigan Civil Rights Initiative
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e said,
October 27, 2006 at 8:47 am
A little off topic, but what do you mean by “Republican man-lover Dick DeVos”?
Brandon said,
October 28, 2006 at 10:39 am
I mean that he’s largely a tool of the “Republican man”. Nothing more.
Jen Z. said,
November 6, 2006 at 9:39 pm
Affirmative action is a euphemism for discrimination. PLAIN AND SIMPLE. Do you really think I want to get a promotion and have people saying behind my back that “the only reason she got that job is she’s a woman” ?? No thank you. I will get that job ON MY OWN MERIT and with my own qualifications. And anyone that wants “the system” to NOT be gender-blind and color-blind is looking for an undeserved handout. If I truly feel I have been discriminated against, there are a multitide of lawyers out there who will help me reclaim damages - real or imagined. “Affirmative action” sounds so much better than “discrimination”, doesn’t it?
Little Light said,
November 8, 2006 at 3:43 pm
Thanks for taking the time to explain affirmative action. I got sick of explaining to everyone who wanted to pick a fight with me in Texas that I actually got into college on my own qualifications and then I just gave up and moved to Manhattan.
Recovering said,
November 10, 2006 at 9:48 pm
I’m too lazy to look it up - did it pass or not?
Brook said,
November 19, 2006 at 10:56 pm
well, to prove once again that my vote doesn’t mean shit, there is no more affirmative action allowed in Michigan (i.e. it passed).
the first time I realized my vote doesn’t count was when I was standing in line to vote and they came and told us who won (Clinton, who I was *going to* vote for if they would have given me the chance before taking all the fun out of it).
james said,
December 5, 2006 at 6:24 am
Why doesn’t affirmative action value other factors like age, economic background, education, marital status, personality type, minorities other than those included (i.e. East Indian, Chinese, Russian, Romanian, take your pick).
One major problem I have with it is that it is so narrowly focused an idea of what counts as diversity. Pretty much any difference you can find between people will give them a different perspective on a given issue. Why is that not valued as diverse?