Affirmative Action

[Pindar]

No argument with any of those 3 sentences. If the post-civil war men in power had held the same enlighted mindset, AA would never have been necessary. But they didn't, so it was.

The only other course to reconciliation and integration I can think of is: monetary compensation. And I submit, that a single generation of AA policies in education and work, is cheaper, more goal-directed, and less fiscally-onerous than trying to figure out a proper amount to pay out.

Hello Master KuriKhan,

It appears you agree AA is theoretically absurd. The 'necessary' referent above would appear to be a practical appeal. If we follow this line of thought it would seem to be that discrimination is acceptable to redress the evils of the past. How does one determine the necessary condition has been met? Is it based on a time line (a number of years equal to slavery in the Republic?), Is it based on economic standing: X number of the educated oppressed have met economic standing Y? Would this have to be periodically checked so that any dip below Y would constitute a reintroduction of AA? How does one even determine proper benefitee status? Is it any drop of African blood or only Sub-Saharan African ancestry? Is it 1/32 oppressed ancestry, 1/16, 1/8, 1/2 that would constitute government largess? Does AA apply to any minority or only those traceable to the Civil War? What does one do with minorities that despite their own history of oppression in the U.S. nonetheless succeed in university: do we restrict/bar Asians because their too successful?

Rather than embracing absurdities and getting lost in a practical bog it is preferable to understand under basic jurisprudence one cannot be prosecuted for doing something that was legal at one time or expect redress for the same. If times change (as seems the case with the twin evils or slavery and segregation) then best to move on and let each be accounted for the content of his character rather than the color of his skin. Recognize the evils of the past by not repeating them: discrimination is an example.