You know a lot of useless conjecture in this country is from such narrow perspectives. Is it me or are so many people so in a hurry to simplify everything into a black and white situation, no pun but it fits. The whole reason for the original AA is because minorities as a whole were not being provided the same basic level of education as many whites. When I say basic I mean elementary through 12th; the education the government provides by the way. This isn';t even a point to argue since institutional racism, once advocated by the government, is a known historical fact. What is not a fact or even a serious supposition is that all the institutional racism has magically changed over the last century which is where a lot of the opposers of AA come from.
At the time when this country's social structure was being laid certain people were purposely made to fail or shall we say, purposely not given the tools to succeed. I'm sure it wasn't the worst thing being denied a particular job or an education but they were denied the same nurturing cultural foundation as other Americans. That particular point is historically downplayed in favor of more tangible racial inequalities but, in truth, that cultural nurturing has had the strongest influence on the identity of the modern American citizen. Today we call it that "ridiculously delusional fantasy of American exceptionalism"...
Fast forward to the present and the kids that go to great colleges here aren't necessarily the smartest kids n the nation, they're either financially secure or just kids who were given the proper tools to do well in the, extra mediocre, American educational system, which has done everything possible to rig itself, so that certain American students feel smart and informed even if they're actually not. The educational system is at worst a formality towards a job and at best a "lame joke". I could learn more from a week and a book than a nine month college course.
Anyway, the problem with longstanding social inequality is that it is impossible to address directly because it becomes ingrained in the culture. Some people say "Just give them everybody the same "standardized" test. That's fair. " Yeah! that's fair! Just like treating a whole race of people like non-citizens and second class humans, then grudgingly freeing them and wondering why they don't assimilate smoothly as normal members of society or giving a inner city kid a golf club and leaving them stranded at Pebble Beach. That's fair right? It would be fair if everyone had access to the same standardized education and but that's not so.
In the end, you can't make people be fair and impartial and you can't go into every poor kid's house and undo years of negative social programming. So for people who actually understand the overlapping complexities of the problem the original AA law wasn't an answer, it was a first step in instating some type of social balance. Of course some people who benefitted from the flawed social order, and some who didn't, will feel slighted the same as people with 80% coverage through their employer are pissed at Obamacare. But do you honestly believe you deserve better medical coverage than someone else who works just as hard because you're lucky enough to have a job with benefits?? Nobody ever wants to admit cheating when it's in their favor I guess...
