Discrimination Vs Positive Discrimination

“… What I ask for the negro is not benevolence, not pity, not sympathy, but simply justice … Do nothing with us! … All I ask is, give him a chance to stand on his own legs! Let him alone!” (Douglass). Questioning what Frederick Douglass is a historic figure. Born in 1818.. He thought, what is abolition?

Stating that Negros shall be left alone to accomplish their own goals illustrates the harm of interference and meddling from others. This concept demonstrates the harm of this so called “positive discrimination.” Past discrimination doesn’t justify the use of affirmative action to “make up” for all the losses when they can’t compete and do as well as their majority peers. One knows that justice is accomplished when equality occurs and favoritism

The acceptance rates are higher for Africans at the University of Michigan, which again, correlates to discrimination (Becker). Altering acceptance rates for specific races is a discriminatory act. It pushes Asians and whites who fell short of the requirement out of the picture. The academically well-prepared Asians and whites would be passed over because some may not achieve the increased acceptable standards for an SAT score in their racial group, yet their scores are sufficient to fulfill the minimum requirement for other minorities, such as Africans and Hispanics, leading them to feel as if they were cheated on. Although Asians tend to score higher on standardized tests, it should be noted that Asians are a minority group, yet they have the highest requirements in terms of tests and grade point averages for college admissions. While it’s true that selective admissions are so competitive that even without affirmative action, the majority who applied are rejected, however, there are always whites and Asians who excel in academics and meet the requirements, yet are rejected because there’s a limited quota to include the

Mismatch defines why Africans who want to pursue a doctorate are twice as likely to derail from the path because they’re mismatched (Sander and Stuart). The level of competition present doesn’t match their capabilities. In Texas, Africans who score in the middle of the college population are mixed in with highly competitive students (Sander and Stuart). Mismatch then occurs in this population because the ratio of minority students who don’t do well academically overwhelms the majority who do. Because of mismatch, minorities would rank at the bottom of their classes, which doesn’t define the purpose of implementing affirmative action when they can’t match the other student’s capabilities and end up failing. Although being surrounded by competitive peers may have benefits, such as the individual becoming more challenged and having the capability to learn a lot from observing others, just observing isn’t enough to raise their grades or their understanding of the concept. Just because they are observing how other students take notes doesn’t imply that they’ll do well and understand how to use it to their advantage, which then creates a cycle of giving up their desired careers. Therefore, affirmative action doesn’t benefit the disadvantaged group who can’t match the level of their peers. Abolishing this system is necessary because minorities are already unprepared upon entering college. Even if we think they’re getting