Is affirmative action fair?

Affirmative action laws provide preferential treatment to minority groups in education and employment to counter unfair or discriminatory social biases.

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Agree

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Colin Powell Former U.S. Secretary of State

Agree

If a history of discrimination has made it difficult for certain Americans to meet standards, it is only fair to provide temporary means to help them catch up and compete on equal terms.

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01 Jan 1995 Source

Barack Obama United States President

Agree

...my daughters should probably be treated by any admissions officer as folks who are pretty advantaged... [and] we should take into account white kids who have been disadvantaged.... [but] I think what we can say is that in our society race and class still intersect... I would like to think that ...affirmative action becomes a diminishing tool for us to achieve racial equality in this society.

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14 May 2007 Source

Disagree

Neutral

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John McCain U.S. Senator, Republican

Neutral

The issue [of affirmative action] in the early '90s was a little more complicated. I've never believed in quotas, and I don't. There's no doubt about my view on that issue. And that was the implication, at least, of that other vote.

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06 Apr 2008 Source

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1 Point the27th 09 May 2010 Stance on Question: Neutral

It's a blunt instrument. But I think it's largely harmless. College admissions and employment decisions aren't meritocratic anyhow. There's chance, prejudice, favoritism, and caprice in the whole business. If we need to make school and employment decisions "fairer" then fine, let's work on making them fairer; but don't pretend that racial preferences are the worst offender. It should be the least of our worries.

1 Point JGWeissman 27 Mar 2010 Stance on Question: Disagree

Affirmative Action is reversed racism, which is just another form of racism. I understand the desire to help those who are disadvantaged, but then the eligibility for this help should take into account actual disadvantages, which screen off from consideration past racism that may have been the cause of the disadvantage.

Is affirmative action fair?

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