Quote Originally Posted by Spino
Part of the problem is the monochromatic example you have applied to the AA equation. AA may be a blessing to Blacks and (to a lesser extent) Hispanics and a bane to Whites but in some instances it can be a veritable roadblock for Asians, especially East Asians. The racial quotas that apply to Asians have a tendency to match their overall population which is roughly 3-4%. In the aftermath of Proposition 209 Asian enrollment in California schools increased across the board. In the case of California's more prestigious schools Asian enrollment jumped dramatically. Based on the US census Asians outperform every other racial group with respect to academic achievement and socioeconomic standing. Being shoehorned into a 3-4% quota clearly isn't helping Asians make the most out of their efforts in what, for all intents and purposes, should be a purely meritocratic environment.
I dispute nothing that you say.

The other reason I really hate the topic of AA is that, unlike with just about every other issue in the world, I find myself unable to form a solid opinion and take a stand.

Everytime I think I might be leaning one way or the other, somebody points out another facet of the situation such as you have just done, which makes me have to start all over with the problem.

But it usually comes back to being unable to justify eliminating completely the mandating of minority hiring, while still hating that there is a need for it.

The current system ensures that somebody is always getting the crappy end of the stick. I guess for me it just comes down to weighing up who would suffer most from said crappy end.

Maybe the answer is to have affirmative action based not upon race, but on family income?

I don't know.