3 ms·

You don’t seem to understand that what you’re saying is tantamount to: “Asian people of merit should be disproportionately harmed versus Jews for having been bo

by sp527 8y ago

You don’t seem to understand that what you’re saying is tantamount to: “Asian people of merit should be disproportionately harmed versus Jews for having been born in a specific time and place, to correct for a historical imbalance they had equally little to do with.” I. Don’t. Care. I want fair treatment today. Now. While I’m still alive. Stop using my race against me. It’s wrong. As a society, we DECIDED it’s wrong a long time ago.

betterunix2 8y ago
Great, maybe we should start by eliminating legacy admissions, which take seats away from all applicants of merit for the benefit of people whose parents went to Harvard. You are upset about how Harvard makes decisions for all the other people who actually have to have outstanding academic achievements to even be considered for admission (people who benefit from affirmative action still have to be outstanding -- everyone else is rejected before admissions officers even consider "holistic" criteria). You want fair treatment? So do I. The thing is, I never knew my father growing up. Are you going to find someone to be a dad for every child in that situation? My mom worked the night shift at a blue-collar job and was not always there to keep me focused on my homework; are you going to find someone to supervise every child in that situation? Was it fair that I had to compete with people who did not have to deal with those disadvantages growing up? Meritocracy sounds appealing in theory but falls apart in practice because we live in a society that only nominally respects "merit" and where some teenagers have to deal with racism that other teenagers do not have to deal with. There is no fair definition of "merit" because everyone has a different set of circumstances in their lives, different obstacles to overcome, and different opportunities to shine. It is fine if you object to affirmative action or if you think there is some better system that should be implemented, but don't make the mistake of thinking that there is some way to treat everyone fairly.

by sp527 8y ago

betterunix2 8y ago

Great, maybe we should start by eliminating legacy admissions, which take seats away from all applicants of merit for the benefit of people whose parents went to Harvard. You are upset about how Harvard makes decisions for all the other people who actually have to have outstanding academic achievements to even be considered for admission (people who benefit from affirmative action still have to be outstanding -- everyone else is rejected before admissions officers even consider "holistic" criteria). You want fair treatment? So do I. The thing is, I never knew my father growing up. Are you going to find someone to be a dad for every child in that situation? My mom worked the night shift at a blue-collar job and was not always there to keep me focused on my homework; are you going to find someone to supervise every child in that situation? Was it fair that I had to compete with people who did not have to deal with those disadvantages growing up? Meritocracy sounds appealing in theory but falls apart in practice because we live in a society that only nominally respects "merit" and where some teenagers have to deal with racism that other teenagers do not have to deal with. There is no fair definition of "merit" because everyone has a different set of circumstances in their lives, different obstacles to overcome, and different opportunities to shine. It is fine if you object to affirmative action or if you think there is some better system that should be implemented, but don't make the mistake of thinking that there is some way to treat everyone fairly.