Affirmative Action

I often times wonder if people who are chosen for things based on affirmative action find it offensive. One of my very best friends says no it is not offensive, because it is necessary. I ask her these types of questions, because she is of a minority ethnicity, and I know she will one, not be offended, and two, tell me the truth.

I am not a minority, white as white can be, unless you count being a woman in the minority category. So, you're probably wondering why I would be all worked up about affirmative action. It's not because I don't think ethnicities are discriminated again, or because I don't think people from different cultural backgrounds have an unfair advantage. I think both of these things are equally true.

But did you know that when you apply for college, based on your ethnicity and sex, your requirements are different? This offends me. Not as a white person, but as a woman (which in this case is considered a minority). I feel like someone is trying to tell me they don't think I'm as smart as a man--that my ACT or SAT score and GPA doesn't have to be as high, because let's face it, I can't possibly achieve what a man could achieve.

It makes me want to call all of those colleges and tell them to F off. Judge me the same way you'd judge a man! I can take it! I'm just as smart!

So I wonder if people of different nationalities feel the same way--like some people don't think they're good enough to get in on their own merits. Like they aren't as smart as white people, because their scores don't have to be as high to get into college.

I know it makes me mad. And I'm just a white woman.