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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1996)
S. •& * Individual most important minority Last week, California voters approved a ballot initiative to end hiring preferences practiced by the state government, also known as “affirmative action.” At last there ha been a concrete victory in the battle against the biggest barrier to ending racism and bigotry in America. Affirmative action, ballyhooed by its supporters as a tool for ending racism, is the most disgustingly racis idea the government currently espouses. It is the pinnacle of hypocrisy—an institution claiming that the solution to bigotry is more bigotry. Or, more accurately, affirma tive action replaces isolated, volun tary discrimination against random groups with across-the-board, state mandated discrimination against whatever group is deemed to have at “unfair advantage.” Of course, like all big government programs, there is no logical justifi cation for affirmative action; its only defense has been the collective emotional whine of its supporters who never hesitate to talk about the people who have benefited from affirmative action. But for every “success story” affirmative action has produced, there have been at least two victims —the employee who was more qualified but was not hired because of racial quotas or preferential hiring and the employer, whose choice was taken away and whose business suffers because he is forced to judge people not on the content of their character, but cm the color of their skin or what sexual organs they happened to have been bom with. Beyond those two direct victims of affirmative action, those of us whc are not directly affected also suffer. We all suffer because affirmative action programs have kept us from becoming a “color-blind” society. It pits Americans against one another, as various fragmented groups jockey for protected status. Affirmative * «— Affirmative action, ballyhooed by its supporters as a tool for ending racism, is the most disgustingly racist idea the government currently espouses.” action suggests (in spite of the evidence) that all women and minorities are weak or somehow incapable of succeeding without the government’s help. It also implies ^ that all white men are closed-minded * bigots who want only to preserve their “exclusive power structure.” affirmative action, whether its supporters acknowledge it or not. Affirmative action rests an the same philosophical premise as racism and bigotry—the idea that it is accept able to pass judgment on a large group of people based on the character of a few people in that group. That idea is intellectually insult ing. The person who attempts to judge people en masse is guilty of evading his responsibility to judge people only as individuals, and then only when he or she knows enough about an individual to make a reasonable judgment about that individual’s character. The bigoted employer believes, for example, that no women or blacks (or Hispanics or Jews or gays or whites) are capable of doing their job; the affirmative action supporter believes that no employer is capable of ignoring race, gender, etc., when making hiring decisions. Both make unfounded blanket judgments of individuals they don’t even know. Despite knowing all of this, supporters of affirmative action refuse fo admit that their program is wrong. They seem to believe that given enough time, big government can end racism and bigotry. However, the evidence is obvious. Racism and bigotry have not gone away; discrimination lawsuits, some rather frivolous, abound; and more groups are lobbying to gain special status under affirmative action laws. On a more personal level, though, I have two final observations: (1) The smallest minority is the individual. No individual is exactly like the rest of society; each of us is a unique one-man or one-woman minority. “Minority rights” can only be individual rights. (2) One of our individual fights is freedom of association, t cherish my freedom to peaceably associate with whomever I wish, even if others don’t approve of my choices. It would be hypocritical of me to demand that other people’s freedom of association be taken away, and that includes the right of employers to choose their employees as they see fit, even if I might not approve of their hiring practices. Wiltgen is a junior broadcasting and meteorology major and a Daily Nebraskan columnist. r I!. American Heart Association-^^ Fighting Heart Dieeaao and Stroke Exercise. Women's Studies International Colloquium Series Emilia Gonzalez-Clements Visiting Assistant Professor UNL Department of Anthropology Gender Issues in Anthropology (mT Wednesday, Nov. 13,3:30 p.m. W City Campus Union WMIKl'S StlldieSf pilipiD Grade A NoteTakers are Seniors and Grad Students. They attend class and take accurate and complete lecture notes. These notes can make great supplemental study guides. -AfltttfO 232_Chom 252_History 101_ _BleJFei 101_Eoon 212Nutrioi -Bltt.Sel.312_Eoon 321Philosophy 106 __BJte..Sel431_Finance 365 Physics 212 _CMm.110_Ceoa 120 Poll Sci 100 _Chem 251_Coca 140 Psych 471/6 -|m£hL Grade A Notes at Nebraska Bookstore 1 J Lower Level • 13th A Q Street • 477-7400 ismrniw I CANCUN !|SOUTH PADREI IJ49 .189 I ^^^PSftles! Parties! I T Meals! Meals! I Activitesl Mexico trip! 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