Comments on: So What is Affirmative Action?

By: Ziming Han

Ziming Han — Sat, 12 May 2018 02:59:39 +0000

Human is a kind of animal that afraid to change anything they are familiar with. When white people get used to their privilege, they will regard this status quo as normality. That causes they are too senitive to any policy which may shake their privilege,even the policy about trying to create fair and equality.

By: Wilhelmina Minney

Wilhelmina Minney — Tue, 08 May 2018 21:55:25 +0000

The myth of reverse racism in terms of affirmative action showcases white fragility because those that are white, claiming reverse racism, are interpreting something that is supposed to benefit POC as an attack on those that are white. It reminds me of how, even though Anita was critiquing the institution that she worked with, her white coworker, Susan, decided to get upset, take the critiques personal, and cry (Accapadi, 2007). In both of these examples, there is a larger picture being addressed, yet individual white people decide that it is an attack on them.

By: Sarah Prince

Sarah Prince — Sun, 06 May 2018 21:58:48 +0000

This post is really interesting because I have had conversations where white people would bring up the fact that people of color are getting jobs at their company over the white people. These comments are very disturbing and I have a hard time responding to people who say this. I also don’t know that much about affirmative actions to be able to give a good enough comment in return. When white people make these types of statements they are examples of white victimhood that you have mentioned in this post.

By: bstarr1104

bstarr1104 — Tue, 01 May 2018 22:40:04 +0000

This is a really interesting post, Carli. Reading it made me realize that I had little to no understanding of the origins of affirmative action, namely that it was developed in an effort to eliminate discriminatory hiring practices. I thought that it was simply a way to compensate for past injustices faced by people of color in the workforce. In regards to admission decisions, it is definitely an example of white fragility in that critics don’t seem to understand that it is simply trying to put everyone on the same playing field. They appear to not be acknowledging their privilege that they already have. I am curious-and rather anxious-to see how affirmative action practices will play out over the next few years…