You supporters of this proposition either dont or wont understand the effects of white supremecy on the captive black population.
It was not only about the physical enslavement of africans but the destruction of the humanity of the these captive peoples. please understand that for 200 years there was a concious and orchestrated “program”of dehumanizing the children of africans here by seperating them from their parents and then teaching and showing them that they were less than human, they weere a THING called a NIGGER.
Try that with your children and tell me that they wont need a little help.
I would say to those that decry the “victim” mentality in the black population,
the levels of physical, social , psychological, economic abuse that this white supremist society has heaped upon the black minority is unbelieveable, even the nazis simply killed their victems while white ameerica tortured, lynched and raped blacks here for 200 years. I quote Thomas Jefferson, “when i think about a just god in heaven i fear for my country”
The real fight should be for enough top quality schools for everyone, no compitition for admittnce, everyone gets any help they need to be educated because they are the future ameerica. what the hell, we can “afford” to spend 200 million a week on warfare!!
t.e.smith d.c. statehood green party
smith1965@hotmail.com

And yes, I know there are poor white people, lots of them, but white people benefit in other ways that I can’t believe people overlook. No, I don’t think you’re a biggot. I think you’re uncomfortable examining why affirmative action programs might have been established in the first place.

Its benefits all people the same…what dont you people understand about the concept of ‘Equality’?

http://www.princeton.edu/main/news/archive/S11/80/78Q19/index.xml?section=newsreleases

So, as it turns out, white admission to public universitires won’t increase much (predicted 0.5%) because Asian-American admissions will rise. Good job, guys. Way to secure your kid’s spot in a state college…except not.

Now there is a law that prohibits preferential treatment whether they are black, hispanic, Jewish, Italian, female or even if they are a white protestant male.

Now at last, a truly level playing field. Maybe the conservative bigots didn’t intend it that way, but that is what they got. It doesn’t cancell out the first law. It just adds the part that was missing to make everything truly fair.

Being turned down for jobs you are qualified for is part of life, besides your insistance that it must be racism, your FAILING on your own two feet is the best possible way to learn to navigate this unfair thing called life.

————–

Racism is not a legal public practice. Taking away affirmative action does not legalize bigotry.

I live in the UP where everybody is poor, where our public schools get much less per student (than the schools of lower michigan) where there is LESS oportunity for people of any color/creed…racism stops nobody from attending college today, though poverty stops many people from attending TOP NOTCH colleges, poverty has nothing to do with race…you wanna be special? then do something special

now we need a proposal to stop aid to N.A.s who recieve state funding without offering the same Equal Opportunity they recieve

This proposal doesnt make Racism legal(it bans it..holding one race above another IS racism), though you less informed “activists” think that taking away special priviledges based entirely on RACE infringes on a persons equality…ha ha ha oh the sweet IRONY of it.

I have also watched in embarrassment, the wreckless spewing of propaganda by the Klu Klux Klan and By the Any Means Necessary campaigns amongst others, and have also watched as both sides of the Affirmative Action aisle engaged in an exhaustive and at times childish fact-bending mission laden with physical and verbal intimidation and over zealous manipulation of Michigan’s laboring masses.

But tonight, the same night mortals native to Michigan have finally realized the fate of Affirmative Action in the state of Michigan, I am going to objectively break silence on this issue.

One of the greatest domestic products this beautiful named nation America exports to the rest of the world is the ideal that, for the most part, any person — regardless of race, color, sex or creed — can, through hard work, proper utilization of resources, and with a smidgeon of good luck, rise from the ashes of poverty and climb to the pinnacle of the mountain of achievement.

On the flip side of the coin, one of the most damning products our nation globally exports is the undeniable truth that our nation’s history is laden with vivid examples of racism, bigotry, and inequality.

It was this negative product that mortals like Martin Luther King Jr., Robert Kennedy, Homer Plessy and thousands of others diligently attempted to change during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s.

Evidence to support this claim lies in MLK’s own words, for while giving a speech to thousands of supporters from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963 he said:

“I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: “We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal.

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

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.”

Born from MLK’s aformentioned words as well as from the blood, sweat and tears of thousands of others was an architecture of governmental programs designed to improve quality of life for, as the inscription on the Statue of Liberty States, “…your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

It was these programs that, at that time in history, attempted to assure the ideals listed in the Preamble of the Constitution – ideals such as establishing justice, insuring domestic tranquility, providing for the common defense, promoting the general welfare, and securing the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.

But more than 45 years later, after much heavily heated debate, the fate of many of these progressive programs rested in the hands of Michigan voters. And in the end it seems that MCRI has emerged victorious on the battlefield of equality.

Or has it ?

Upon second and third and subsequent thought, after witnessing wreckless and shameful post-election venom spewing from the mouths, pens, and fingertips of Michiganders via numerous blogs attached to scandalous newspaper articles, I have come to the conclusion that nobody tied to this situation has won.

On the contrary this whole situation has further deteriorated Michigan’s already brittle reputation as, amongst other things, a racially divided state.

As it is a sheer and utter shame.

During my seven plus career in the Armed Forces I have been exposed to, have embraced, and have been enbraced by many service men and women of different races, cultures, religions and creeds.

Furthermore, my comrades and I, in less politically correct terms, overtly and covertly collaborate to deal with those wretched mortals who ruthlessly oppress, persecute, rape and murder others simply because their own racial, cultural, or religious views did not match theirs.

Why do we do have to do this?

Because we do not live in a utopian world.

Nor do we live in a utopian nation.

Nor do Michiganders live in a utopian state.

The abolition of Affirmative Action would be great in a suddenly utopian society; a place where mortals have truly reached an understanding regarding the beauty of diversity and race, color, creed, sex, and religion in schools and in the workplace.

However, Michigan is by no means a utopian society, for as stated earlier, the state has many issues regarding racism and sexism that must be openly discussed without violence and further segregaton before true progression can be achieved.

This statement is not simply based upon sheer opinion. It is based on personal experiences.

For few of many example, I met my fiance nearly three years ago while stationed on an Army post in Maryland. Since that time we have traveled to Michigan together three times to visit family and friends. During every single visit we, regardless of whether we visit Detroit or its suburbs, encounter people who stare and mutter racist comments simply because a “cracker” happens to be holding hands with a “porch monkey.” To show how ignorant the people who make these comments are, my fiance is a West Indian from Trinidad and Tobago, which is 7 nautical miles from the South American nation of Venezuela. But this fact didn’t stop these people from making comments.

Nor did it stop a few people I considered to be friends from offending and putting my fiance and I in a sticky situation by hurling racial slurs at a Middle Eastern man and African American man in a parking lot across the street from St. Andrews night club in downtown Detroit this past summer.

While my fiance and I have learned to rise above this assenine behavior, these examples go to show that Michigan, like many other places in this nation still overtly and covertly wreaks of racism.

While it is true that Michigan tolerates other cultures, it at this point has not embraced them.

And until this changes, Michigan needs to continue to use affirmative action as a crutch to keep its sprained legs of racism and bigotry walking towards progression.

In other words, while striving towards selecting students and employees on merit is certainly a noble endeavor, the banning of affirmative action does not take into account the dark desire of many racist and bigotrous human beings to turn the clock back to the turbulent times when the likes of King and Kennedy roamed this Earth.

“I am sorry Laura and Liza‚Äôs kids aren‚Äôt as smart as white kids mine are and they don‚Äôt need extra help to be equal.”

Matthew – I’m white. How do you explain my opinions now? Despite that Josh just wants us to think that black people are lazy, I know that there are undeniable, FACTUAL barriers to higher education that women and people of color face that JUST AREN’T THERE to white men.
It’s not about extra help to be equal, it’s about (not even) equal help that white men had all along finally being administered.
I am truly thrilled for you that your kids are smart. I am thrilled that you haven’t felt racism or sexism as so many have.

And what about my previous post? Any alternative ideas for diversifying knowledge? Or is everyone comfortable with living, historically and scientifically, in the image of white men? I’m not.

When it comes down to it, all I can say is we’ll see what happens. We’ll see how everyone feels when the pay gap between men and women INCREASES (right now we’re tied with Alabama: 67 cents on the dollar), or when minority admissions in state universities drop by 60% like in California. We’ll see.

And it is something for Michiganders to strive towards.

But like stated earlier, Michigan, like many other states in this union, still overtly and covertly wreaks of racism. While it is true the state tolerates other cultures, it at this point does not embrace them. And until this changes, Michigan needs affirmative action as a crutch to keep sprained legs of racism and bigotry walking towards progression.

This is why I believe, Gratz and Company may have very well ripped these crutches from a crippled state that may further segregate races in the state while hundreds of lawyers rush to the courtroom to perform damage control and prevent discrimination of those who have thrived under Affirmative Action.

(Quoting Matthew) “I am sorry Laura and Liza‚Äôs kids aren‚Äôt as smart as white kids mine are and they don‚Äôt need extra help to be equal.”

Agreed. Never does discrimination justify further discrimination. I fully believe that if an individual is willing to work and work hard, they will soundly defeat me as a young white male in academics, job hunting, social standing, etc.

The type of change that is needed to stamp out racial and gender prejudice is moral, not legislative. By forcing companies and organizations to “accept” racial diversity, all that is being done is engendering begrudging tolerance at best, not real social change.

If we are to take the case study of the city of Detroit, I feel obliged to ask this question of you, Laura: seeing as the vast majority of the city’s populus is black, why is it that blacks in that city aren’t coming out of high school with excelling grades and opportunities? By your reasoning, shouldn’t the minority “disadvantage” be non-existant there? Or could it be something else? Could it possibly be (gasp) a culture of laziness and victimhood that results in a nearly 80% drop-out rate (Source : USA Today study. http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2006-06-20-dropout-rates_x.htm)?

All AA seems to do in that case is encourage sub-par performance for those who otherwise really would excel.

The job market, textbooks, medicine, history, basically all the knowledge we have, is based on the ideas and perspectives of white men. For years, women were prodded by how men perceived their bodies. History writes in racial minorities as it sees fit. AA in the workplace and schools helps diversify knowledge and make it more representative, and makes it so we can’t just rely on what white men think.

Socioeconomic AA alone can’t do that.

If you vote no on proposal 2, you are a racist.

Nathan, unfortunately the real world does not work the way you seem to think it does.

Good post Laura.

And another note: to say that white people are suffering from “discrimination” is hysterical. We benefit our entire lives from being white, whether you’re comfortable admitting that or not. Think hard about what daily life would be like as a person of color, and then talk about “discrimination.”