Benjamin Nguyen Ms. Moccia
1/15/16 Ap Language
Reflection to Affirmative Action Video
In this week's video pertaining to affirmative action, I was surprised to see how well balanced it was as to accurately detailing both sides of the argument. In the past, I was always shown why affirmative action was always right and that it needed to be implemented in society so that it could "level the playing field" for minorities. Being not easily influenced, I was not willing to accept just this based upon what I was told. Arguments against affirmative action were brought to my attention by my own research such as that it draws distinction because of race, which in modern society is like threading a very, very fine needle. In fact, I chose to write a 10 page research paper concerning the topic in Junior year for my final individual research paper. I have heavily considered both sides, and in my research have found that proponents of affirmative action rarely use statistic and fact in proving their arguments. They like to say "minorities are a disadvantaged group" but fail to provide any numerical backing or logos to their argument. One fact for example would be that Asian-Americans are 60% more likely to make a six figure salary over their white counterparts, does that mean we, as Asians, are a disadvantaged group? I have also questioned the distinction of "minority" in my paper. Would a white man be able to benefit from affirmative action if he were to apply to a job of African-Americans? At what point is someone considered a minority? If my great-grandfather was Hispanic, and both of my parents and parent's parents are white, can I use my hispanic lineage to my advantage? I answer these questions in my research paper where I end up providing a solution that does not look at race, but more socioeconomic factors so that it may apply to more of modern day society.
5/5
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