Eliminate Preferences, Eliminate the Stigma
Just as I long for people to stop using the term “African American” to describe black Americans, most of whom never set foot on the continent, I want people to stop using the term “affirmative action” to describe race preferences.
Dahlia Lithwick, writing for Newsweek, uses the term affirmative action throughout her 865-word article about Justice Clarence Thomas and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin to describe race preferences, a policy whereby certain ethnic minority groups are given preferential treatment over other groups. She notes that Justice Thomas opposes race preferences, despite “benefiting” from the practice. In his autobiography, My Grandfather’s Son, Thomas wrote about the stigma of race preferences, the same sort of stigma Palin must be facing.
Thomas received preferential treatment based on the color of his skin, as I and many other blacks have received. Was Palin chosen partly because she was a woman? Most likely. It’s reasonable to perceive recipients of preferential treatment as less qualified until proven otherwise. It’s not fair, but the goal is not to change people’s minds about those hired/admitted under preferences. The goal is to eliminate preferences and allow individuals to compete with the entire pool of applicants, so that no one is stigmatized for being assessed based on lowered standards.
