Riches through Hard Work or Affirmative Action? In recent years Affirmative Action has become an issue of great interest. Affirmative Action, also known as Preferential Hiring, which was devised to create harmony between the different races and sexes, has divided the lines even more. Supporters on both sides seem fixed in their positions and often refuse to listen to the other group's platform. In this essay, the recipients of preferential hiring will be either black or female, and the position in question will be a professorship on the university level. The hirings in question are cases that involve several candidates, all roughly equal in their qualifications (including experience, education, people skills, etc.), with the only difference being race and/or sex. What we have here is a case of predetermined preference. The two candidates in question are equal in all ways, except race. The black applicant is selected, not because of skills or qualifications (in that case the white man would have provided the same result), but for his skin color. This seems to be blatant discrimination, but many believe it is justified. Some feel retribution for years of discrimination is reason enough, but that issue will be discussed later. First, lets focus on why this is not a solution to creating an unbiased society. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream: "I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character." He desired a world without discrimination, without prejudice, and without stereotypes. The fundamental lesson years of discrimination should have taught is that to give anyone preference based on skin color, sex, or religious beliefs is, in one word, wrong. As Martin Luther King Jr. stated, judgment based on skin color must not exist. All preferential hiring does is keep judgments based on skin color alive. Race and sex should not be issues in today's society, yet preferential hiring continues to make these factors issues by treating minorities as a group rather than as individuals. More importantly preferential hiring may actually fuel, rather than extinguish, feelings of racial hostility. Applying the concept of preferential hiring to another situation may help elucidate its shortcomings. A party of white men and a party of black men both arrive at a restaurant at the same time and only one table is free. The headwaiter can only seat one party and must make a decision. According to preferential hiring theory it is necessary to seat the black party first, since historically blacks have been discriminated against when seated in restaurants. In another situation, a white man and a black man are both equidistant from the last seat on the bus. Both men are the same age, have no medical problems, and are equal in all ways except skin color. Should the black man get the seat since in the past black men have been discriminated against? We could continue this practice for several centuries before the debt we owe for depriving blacks of a seat on the bus would be paid. Perhaps these examples are invalid. It could be said that jobs are a different issue. They help define social status and provide economic well-being. They might even boost self-confidence, something that discrimination has stolen. Two points must be considered before moving any further. First, blacks may learn better from a black, and women may learn better from a woman. Second, hiring women and blacks will provide role models for others. The first point Thomson quickly concedes as likely to be false. Discussion about the second point however is required, and will, in effect, serve to negate the first point as well. First, lets create a character, Bill. Bill is grossly overweight and unattractive. Studies have shown that many employers discriminate (whether subconsciously or not), against both overweight and unattractive individuals. Unfortunately for Bill, he fits into both categories. His inability to land a job reflective of his abilities, coupled with years of public humiliation through jokes made at his expense, has destroyed his self-esteem. This has caused him to accept as fact the notion that he will never be able to reach his goals. Few "Bill" success stories exist, only further plummeting his self-confidence. This example sounds strikingly similar to a common argument for preferential hiring. I have been discriminated against, which has caused my self esteem to fall, and now I am stuck, with few role models to follow. Bill's success has probably been thwarted by more sources than the today's average black or female, but there is no provision in preferential hiring for him. Just like no one can control their race or skin color, Bill's obesity is caused by a medical problem beyond treatment. Selective preferential hiring won't work. Even if one doesn't accept the fact that preferential hiring discriminates against the white male, one must accept the fact that preferential hiring discriminates against Bill. Now let's assume that this argumentation is invalid for one reason or another. Let's assume the lack of self-confidence and self-respect that today's blacks and women are suffering from may deserve some compensation. But before continuing, it seems necessary to narrow the range of who qualifies for compensation for suffering. The issue at hand concerns today's blacks and today's women. Today's society is not responsible for incidents preceding its own existence. Other opinions may not coincide with this belief, but I do not feel any responsibility for the positive or negative actions of my grandfather or my father. However, as a member of society I will take responsibility for the positive or negative actions of society today. For example, today's society is not responsible for blacks or women's lack of voting rights years ago. If for some reason we were responsible, how could this possibly be repaid? Make a black or female vote count two or three times? No, this is preposterous. We have canceled our debts, simply by giving them a right to vote and a say in the election of their representatives. Now that is not to say that today's society is not responsible for the discrimination of blacks and women in recent years. But, even prior to the lifetime of those that would be most affected by preferential hiring: both blacks and women have had the right to vote; discrimination based on race, color, religion, or sex has been illegal; segregation has ended; and the civil rights movement has taken place. Clearly, we live in a different United States than out predecessors. Today's blacks and women may still experience some repercussions of discrimination, but for decades laws have been enforced prohibiting discrimination. If someone discriminates against a black today, charges could be filed against that person and that person will be punished. That is the bottom line. Preferential treatment cannot be given to victims of all crimes. It would become chaotic trying pin the level of preference a victim should get for different crimes. For a moment let's digress to the case of Judy. Judy was raped. All society can offer her is the punishment of her rapist, if her rapist is found guilty. Sure, Judy will probably suffer for the rest of her life believing that it was her fault; she will lose self-respect and self-confidence. But is Judy going to receive preferential treatment when she walks into an office and applies for a job? There is no space on a job application for Judy to say: "I should receive special consideration, because several years ago I was raped. This rape has caused me years of anguish, and now I lack the self-confidence I once had. All this has cause me to underachieve in school and in life. Please consider this when you review my application." If Judy, who lost her self-confidence and self-respect through the violation of her rights by a member of society, is given no compensation for her trauma, why should blacks or women? All society owes the victim of a crime is that the criminal be punished if in fact a law was breached. Possibly their case is more powerful. Not all women (or men) are raped each year, but most blacks and women have been discriminated against at some point in their life. Could we possibly owe the victims of discrimination something? If, as Thomson claims, all blacks and females have, as a consequence of their past lack of rights, suffered a lack of self-confidence and self-respect, then why preferentially give them jobs? Jobs have no direct correlation to a lack of self-respect and self-confidence. Indirectly, yes, maybe many blacks and women have not been able to achieve their highest goals due to this lack of self-confidence and are therefore handicapped when they enter the job market. But it seems to me that if we were to solve the problem and provide repayment with the loosening of qualifications necessary, or even not the loosening but the offering of preferential treatment when hiring blacks and women, this does not solve the problem. It seems to make more sense to dig deeper; to find the root of the problem and change it. Since we can't go back and change history, eliminating the poor treatment blacks and women of the past, then the next best thing seems to be to reverse the effects of discrimination in the present. The lack of presence in the upper levels of the job market is not a direct effect of discrimination. It is, as Thomson states, a lack of self-confidence and self-respect that has kept toady's blacks and women down. So the logical solution would be to renew their self-respect, and to restore their self-confidence. It seems like too superficial of a solution to simply give blacks and women preference when it comes to hiring. Certainly it would not bolster my self-confidence to know that I received a job over another equally qualified individual, simply due to my skin color or sex. I would feel as if again race and sex were dominating decisions. Wasn't the original goal to eliminate the issue of skin color and sex from all decisions? Thomson, in her essay on preferential hiring, tells us that she is not happy with the solution of preferential hiring in its entirety: "If there were some appropriate way in which the community could make amends to its blacks and women, some way which did not require depriving anyone of anything he has a right to, then that would be the best course to take." There must be a better way. Psychological treatment would help give the victims of poor treatment renewed self-confidence, providing them the confidence to go out and try to earn a job, rather than get handed a job. The feeling of accomplishment that results from earning a job would help improve self-confidence. But now another issue arises. We would owe all victims of crime some sort of compensation. Maybe there is another way to elevate the status of minorities without bringing the issue of race or sex into the arena. If what is desired by preferential hiring is a jump-start to promote diversity in the workplace and in society, where race and sex are irrelevant, why not enact a plan where preferential hiring is not based on these factors? Instead, why not give preference to underrepresented towns or areas of town (possibly by zip code), to those that are financially burdened, and to those with handicaps. This would help relieve the pressure of race and sex in these issues. The underprivileged will still be given a jump-start, and diversity will still be promoted. However, this solution breaches another point that any form of categorization of people should not occur. The solutions presented are more acceptable than preferential hiring, though they still have their defects. Why not bury the issue of race? Discrimination is waning. It has become a crime to discriminate. Soon blacks and women will become full members of the job world. There are plenty of role model success stories available. There is no reason to believe that anyone, in today's society, cannot achieve whatever they wish. Hard work and diligence will pay off and eventually race and sex will no longer be issues. The goal is to make race and sex irrelevant, and preferential hiring only keeps these issues alive. Let's try to live in a society modeled after Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream, and I believe the issues of race and sex will disappear, leaving people to be judged solely on their character.
In conclusion, the tragic hero has been proven to be Antigone, her choice to bury Polyneicês is what the play revolves around. Her impulsive personality and love drives her to disregard the will of the struggling King Creon and bury her Polyneicês. The consequences of her actions cause the downfall of not only herself, but also Haimon, who commits suicide after hearing of her death. Accordingly, analyses of the play Antigone shows that the tragic hero would have to be the heroine and main character herself, Antigone. Since she possesses all traits that a tragic hero should have. These include, not being overly “good or bad”, bringing pity to the audience, and having a single flaw that brings upon their own downfalls.
There may been times when people have been treated unfairly, just because of their appearance or their social life.
In the play Antigone, I choose Creon to be the tragic hero because he is the King of Thebes and he looses everything he has. Creon being King makes the audience believe that something like that can happen to the King then what can happen to us. Antigone the niece of Creon, The sister of Polyneices was punished by Creon for burying Polyneces after his death, Creon has forbidden anybody to do so. Once Creon punished Antigone the blind prophet Teiresias told him that the Gods will take revenge for his actions, then Creon tried to change everything but he is too late. Creon's tragic flaws were his stubbornness, the abuse of power and the actions he took to cause the downfall of the Thebes.
the author uses a variety of emotions and moods. As well as that, I am
Over the past 15 years tremendous awareness has been raised around this and programs of preferential treatment emerged. These programs ensured equal rights for people of color and females in the work place, allowing for them to apply for executive level positions and earn the same amount of money, benefits, and prestige as a white male ensuring equality for all race and sex. Lisa Newton argues that, “reverse discrimination does not advance but actually undermines equality because it violates the concept of equal justice under law for all citizens. In addition, to this theoretical objection to reverse discrimination, Newton opposes it because she believes it raises insoluble problems.” Among them are determining what groups have been sufficiently discriminated against in the past to deserve preferred treatment in the present and determining the degree of reverse discrimination that will be compensatory. Newton outlines the importance of ensuring her argument is recognized as logically distinct from the condition of justice in the political sense. She begins her argument for reverse discrimination as unjustified by addressing the “simple justice” claim requiring that we favor women and blacks in employment and education opportunities. Since women and blacks were unjustly excluded from such opportunities for so many years in the not so distant past, however when employers and schools favor women and blacks, the same injustice is done. This reverse discrimination violates the public equality which defines citizenship and destroys the rule of law for the areas in which these favors are granted. To the extent that we adopt a program of discrimination, reverse or otherwise, justice in the political sense is destroyed, and none of us, specifically affected or no is a citizen, as bearers of rights we are all petitioners
Institutions in the businesses sector are swarming in racial discrimination, much of which is covert and difficult to detect and prove. Racial discrimination excludes, marginalizes and exploits those citizens who are discriminated against, ceasing any opportunity for economic progress and development. Under certain regulations some businesses are required to diversify their workplace by hiring certain amounts of people of color, but in reality these small quotas do not do much for the overall condition of the people who are being discriminated against. Businesses that fail to take action on racial discrimination tend to have lower levels of productivity. This stems from employees not being interested in working hard, or because people with exceptional talents and skills choose to shy away from certain places of employment due to the fear of racial discrimination. Employees who feel wronged also tend to switch jobs, forcing the organization to spend more time and resources on hiring and training new employees, besides coping with the low productivity of a new employee. (Nayab)The effects of racial discrimination in the American work force could be identified with funded research on the topic. With ample data employers will be able to better understand the negative affects that racial discrimination have
The nature of the tragic hero of ancient Greek tragedy was first discussed by Aristotle in Poetics in the fourth century BC. Using Sophocles’ tragedy Oedipus the King as a model, Aristotle identified four characteristics necessary for a tragic hero: position (power, royalty, good intentions), tragic flaw (a character’s fault that leads to the hero’s downfall), reversal (the downfall itself), and recognition (the hero’s realization that he has caused his own downfall). In Antigone, another of Sophocles’ tragedies, King Creon becomes king of Thebes after the deaths of Oedipus’ sons Eteocles and Polyneices. As, the proud, stubborn Creon abandons the gods’ law and refuses to consider the advice of others, tragic consequences ensue. During his reign, Creon demonstrates all four characteristics of the tragic hero.
The novel ,all in all, is like a sort of guide for teenagers lost in their own
Svidrigailov is one of the most unfathomable characters in Crime and Punishment. As the novel goes on, Svidrigailov’s pursuit of Dunya progresses into sheer harassment. After eavesdropping on Raskolnikov’s confession to Sonya, he uses his newly acquired information to lure Dunya into his room. Svidrigailov proceeds to promise help to Raskolnikov if she will give him her hand in marriage. He then threatens to rape her when she tries to run away. Right when Svidrigailov appears to be purely evil, he surprises us all when his rational side kicks in and allows Dunya to leave. Although he may seem to be the cold-hearted villain of the book, his good deeds cannot go unnoticed. It cannot be forgotten that he is willing to give Dunya the three thousand rubbles in his wife’s will and offers ten thousand rubbles to help Dunya because he thinks her marriage will be a disadvantage to her in the end. Once Katerina Ivanonva dies, Svidrigailov also promises to pay for the funeral arrangements and to provide for the children, who will be sent to an orphanage. Although...
Through the duration of the book, Raskolnikov tries to hide his issue between evil and good by passing in between characters. He begins to hate his “exceptional man theory” the more he communicates with Svidrigailov because Raskolnikov does not like how Svidrigailov relates to the Ubermensch and the traits that tend to correlate with this the...
In the awe-inspiring play of Antigone, Sophocles introduces two remarkable characters, Antigone and Creon. A conflict between these two obstinate characters leads to fatal consequences for themselves and their kindred. The firm stances of Creon and Antigone stem from two great imperatives: his loyalty to the state and her dedication to her family, her religion but most of all her conscience. The identity of the tragic hero of this play is still heavily debated. This tragedy could have been prevented if it had not been for Creon's pitiful mistakes.
In Greek tragedies, tragedians always establish a tragic hero who descends from grace due to a fatal flaw as well as someone who is of nobility. Moreover this character may also experience peripeteia, anagnorisis, and of course, a terrible ending (“Tragic Hero as Defined by Aristotle”). One Greek tragedy that involves a tragic hero is Sophocles’ Antigone which portrays two characters who strive for what they believe in, either state law or divine law, which leads to their demise. These two characters are King Creon and Antigone. The concept of who is the tragic hero in this tragedy is controversial due to the fact that Antigone dies but Creon lives with many deaths upon his shoulders. With the definition of a tragic hero in mind, King Creon is the tragic hero of this tragedy due to his status as a noble, his hubris as his flaw, and his experiences that include peripeteia, anagnorisis, and his tragic fate; on the other hand, Antigone only exhibits the status of a noble, tragic flaw, and the tragic fate of death.
Abstract- Racial discrimination happens all the time and most of us are unaware of it. The most common place for this to happen is in the workplace. Now people can be discriminated against because of their race, religion, or any other numerous things. Also, discrimination can occur during the job interview or even after you got the job. This paper will shoe the effects of racial discrimination and how it can be prevented. In addition there are some very important laws that deal specifically with discrimination, like the NAACP or Affirmative Action. These both will be discussed.
With the prominent focus in Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky being the path for redemption and the search for hope, a connection can be made with the religious influences throughout the novel. Such religious influences throughout the Christian faith can most prominently be seen in how the characters such as Raskolnikov develop. Needing a vessel to communicate and push these religious influences onto a struggling and tormented Raskolnikov, Dostoevsky uses Sonia’s character to contrast religious perspectives and offer a beacon of hope to Raskolnikov. Through understanding religious symbolism, relationships with other characters, and a character’s path to seek redemption, one can gain insight into Raskolnikov’s development and path for personal growth in Crime and Punishment.
As a freshman going into the Career Fair, I was a little intimidated. I was told to prepare an elevator speech, find a suite to wear, and don’t do anything that will pin you as “that freshman”. To help with this preparation, I attended the Career Fair Prep Class for freshmen and sophomores hosted by Megan Dino. Her class helped me create my thirty second elevator speech and gave me the opportunity to practice it with other students. I also learned what kind of questions to ask the recruiters. I was told to ask questions like, “who is the customer base in?” or “will this role interface with customers or mostly employees in my department?” rather than just asking open ended questions that make the recruiter feel swamped. After the prep class, I went on I-link to research some of the companies offering job shadows. I decided I wanted