<p>Point the first: Do you want to know the difference between Black Americans, Asian-Americans, and Jewish-Americans? The latter two groups CHOSE to come to America. They wanted to be here because they wanted money, jobs, freedom, whatever. The first group? Whoops, brought here against their will as property. Now, 200 years of that, followed by 100 more years of forced segregation couldn't possibly have affected the way Black Americans live today, could it? It couldn't possibly have put up barriers to their success, could it? No way, man. They're just LAZY. </p>
<p>Point the second: Asian-Americans, European-Americans, Jewish-Americans, Actual-Immigrants-from-Africa-Americans all come to America with an intact cultural heritage. Little Italy? Check. Little Saigon? Check. But... Little Nairobi? Where are the African cultural centers? Wait, there are none, because slaves don't get to keep their culture, their language, or even the integrity of their families. Thus, the roots of the "black" culture that you all so glibly dismiss as "lazy" and "apolitical" and "sex-obsessed" can be traced back to the forced migration of Africans, of all kinds of cultures, at the hands of white imperialists. Slaves don't value education. Slaves don't value success, or political ambition. They aren't allowed to. In fact, they are forced not to. That couldn't possibly be a stumbling block to the success of Black-Americans today, though, could it? No way. They're just LAZY.</p>
<p>Point the third: Affirmative Action is not about "avenging slavery" or any of the paranoid notions that white people come up with. It's about recognizing that, due to the fact that America has been steered by white hands for, oh, the entirety of its history, minority groups find themselves at a disadvantage in American society through no fault of their own. Thus, efforts are taken to rectify this imbalance: they are given some amount of preference in college admissions. Content yourself with the knowledge that, had that black kid been white, she would have beaten you anyway. Ultimately, Affirmative Action is not about "white people suck," no matter how butthurt you are over not getting into your top choice. Affirmative Action is about "non-white people get a raw deal. thus, they get some benefits in hopes of allowing them to succeed at their full potential, unhindered by racist assumptions and stumbling blocks, thus causing those racist assumptions and stumbling blocks to gradually disappear."</p>
<p>And now to address some specific comments:</p>
<p>ninja.or.love: "coronaryay, your comments were completely insensitive and deplorable. How many college students today were forced to go to segregated schools with no funding, use separate facilities, or were lynched?"</p>
<p>Completely missed the point. I said that many college students' grandfathers faced those things. It's trying to point out that real, obvious, vicious racism is not that far behind us. So why do some of us insist that, because the Civil Rights Act was passed, everything's peachy keen?</p>
<p>alamode: "Jews were discriminated against at nearly the same levels as blacks: they were shunned from society and banned to jobs as bankers/loaners, which were looked down upon because they were meddling with money, which was against biblical beliefs"</p>
<p>And whoops! They got rich. Anti-Semitism, while a real force in America, was never expressed with nearly as much violence or gusto as black racism. For example, how many Jews were lynched for whistling at a Christian woman? Also, please remember that we're talking about America, not Renaissance Europe. Or the Merchant of Venice.</p>
<p>My Cat Rocks: "These minorities aren't ridiculed for not making an effort to be a better student because they already have made that effort. Maybe other benefactors of affirmative action should too rather than complain they aren't being coddled enough."</p>
<p>Oh yeah, because THIS statement isn't racist at ALL. Not one bit. I will point out, again, that all the people you mentioned made the conscious choice to come to America, or their parents did. They have an intact cultural heritage to draw on. Nobody's going to jeer them for "acting white." They aren't constantly being shown that the face of crime is the same color as their own. </p>
<p>And oh, yeah. "Whitey." What a powerful racial slur, with all kinds of historical venom behind it. It has so often been hurled at the broken body of a beaten white man. It has so often been used to deride a young white child. It has so often demeaned women. In fact, it has demonized and demeaned an entire subset of the population, rained down on them by callous oppressors who exploit them for the mere fact of their skin color.</p>
<p>Oh wait, oops, no it hasn't. I'm glad I managed to offend you with a completely toothless jibe.</p>