Have you ever considered the fact that affirmative action is not and has not been an innovative idea nor has entitlement. It has always been extended in most if not all areas of life to white males and to a lesser degree to white females in this country, particularly if the socio-economic group was right. This does not diminish the other fact that some of these individuals have been productive and are qualified. I see no embarrasment or guilt on the shoulders of those who reaped the benefits of “first hired, last fired” corporate or government; “redlining” for property purchases or better interest rates on loans or credit cards regardless of your credit score; access to better educational facilities because “someone knew someone” in the adssion ofice or the board; first crack at business opportunities because someone made a call, etc; Mind you this is not an indictment of the system, I am only trying to remind you that existed long before you or I came along and should not now be considered a harbinger of misplaced assistance to those who are able to reap some of the same benefits and I think not at the expense of most white males ( not the case when the shoe was on the other foot)

They both add to the entitlement mentality. In fact, the default rate for FHA loans is higher than that for conventional loans. It also contributes to the spiraling costs of buying a home.

“You would have performed the same way if a friend got you the job, not your “race”.”

That may not necesarily be true. For it depends on who the friend is, is he/she the owner of the company? A relative? or merely another coworker who put in a good word for me? Nepatism can breed an entitlement mentality as well, so maybe I would have performed the same if that were the case. A co-equal friendship in which the friend simply put in a good word to his boss, my future boss, would probably, more or less, cause me to do better work in the hopes of not shaming my friend. The same could be true if it were a relative.

AA is an invisible entity, so there is no obligation to give any honor to anyone in appreciation for what it may bring and therefore no obligation to strive for high achievment. There are no checks and balances in place to ensure this. Yet, a friend or relative relationship has built in checks and balances as I stated above.

You say who cares, well indeed, who does care? Or better yet, who should care? As you stated earlier,

“I was taught the value of hard work and I’ve always tried to live up to those values, whether or not I obtained my position with affirmative action, knowing someone, or whatever.” Well, if you were taught the values of hard work then you should care about whether or not your hard work is being rewarded. Should you not? Isn’t that part of valuing hard work, knowing that it reaps reward?

You are correct in that it is the individual’s fault, I totally agree with that, ultimately it is the individual’s responsibility. That being the case, why is AA a necessity if it is the individual’s responsibility? If AA doesn’t solve the problems of equality in the workplace then why have it? If less qualified people are still being hired then what is the point? By your own admission companies still hire, promote and fire unqualified people whether black or white. If that is the case then why in the world do we need a system that perpetuates this reality even more so?

FHA loans and student loans are supposed to be need based not raced based. When race is a factor for one group they become unfair to all groups. AA in its present form is not need based, it is race based, and that is the problem.

Who cares?
I don’t.

I’ve seen corporations push aside low performing individuals of all races.

I’ve seen corporations and businesses promote and up individuals of all races who don’t deserve it.

I’ve never seen one discussion address that issue.

When a person’s evaluation comes, if they lie and say the person is doing a good job, then the fault lies with the business. If they tell the truth and the individual maintains their low performance, it’s the individual’s fault.

You would have performed the same way if a friend got you the job, not your “race”.

When the same people who cry out against the entitlement mentality, cry out against FHA loans and government backed student loans or grants, then the intellectually honest discussion can begin. Not before then.

That is at the heart of the AA issue, this attitude of entitlement. This is dangerous indeed because it truly does limit a persons capabilities and perpetuates the very racist notion that Blacks have to be taken care of like children, they cannot do it on their own.
They need a socio-economic high-chair.

Pandering to minorities does not solve their problems, as you stated yourself, teaching them the values of hard work does. How do you know if you are living up to those values if what you strive for is first, given to you, and then, not because of your hard work, but because of your color. You will never know if you actually earned what you’ve “achieved”.

I was taught the value of hard work and I’ve always tried to live up to those values, whether or not I obtained my position with affirmative action, knowing someone, or whatever.

Your personal failings have nothing to do with affirmative action.

I have several business opportunities for growth opening up for me through my various customer contacts.

It is a good feeling knowing that I earned any success that I have from my hard work and not from my color. I don’t rely on loans, or any government programs or any Black Business chamber, club or whatever. I simply pound the pavement, knocking on doors, and cold calling to present my services to potential clients, both black and white. Most of my customers are white, 95% actually.

Hard work and struggle is a good thing, I can only say that in retrospect ofcourse, yet it is. I thank God each day for the challenges and opportunities He gives me. Early on I worked at a company that hired me because I was black. I did not go very far in that company knowing this fact. Admittedly I took it for granted and was happy getting a weekly check. I did mediocre work and did not trust my white superiors enough to share any of my ideas, but I felt I was entitled to receive a weekly check regardless of my performance. I can only admit this in retrospect as well.

It wasn’t until I was laid off and ventured out on my own that I realized the truth, that favoratism and quotas stifle creativity, and innovaton and lead to lethargic attitudes. Racial quotas deprives an individual of the ability to demonstrate ones potential. To really know what your made of.

The point is, we do not know. WE DO NOT KNOW. We know there are hires based on merit and we know there are hires based on meeting quotas.

When you go to the brain surgeon for your child, would the Black doctor be there because he was the best in his class or because a quota needed to be filled? Would that matter to you when the life of your child was at stake?

That is the sinister psychology of race quotas. Unless someone walks around with a sticker on their shirt that says, “I was hired based on merit alone” we have no way of knowing. We cannot determine, by position alone, whether someone is there because they earned it. The Free Market has been stifled and we have no way of knowing if we’re dealing with the most qualified person or the most qualified person of color.

It does a grave disservice to anyone who did get there on sweat equity and merit. It’s a lot of baggage to have to carry. I do not want to shoulder it, because I believe people CAN get there on merit and hard work, the moment we stop telling them they can’t. I face this sort of challenge as a woman. Did the company contract with my company because I was a female owned business or because I was the most qualifed consultancy to do the job? I don’t want to meet their quota. I want them to choose me because I’m the best they could get.

I went to college with Blacks whose parents were government workers. The children of those parents are now teachers, engineers, reporters, high tech workers, government workers, etc.

My mother was a government worker. Food, housing, clothes, etc, were able to be brought from her job. I came out making more than she made. I’m now in the position to help her in her retirement because my income is nice and I’ve learned the merits of saving money.

I refuse to criticize people for working an honest job. Especially when they are able to provide for their children to do better than they did.

Although there are a handful of governmental agencies like DARPA, In-Q-Tel and on occasions NASA, that incubate wealth. Even then, those agencies generally don’t generate that wealth via the government employees, rather by contractors that either create technology or provide COTS (Commercial-Off-The-Shelf) technology.