I have grown up in a family where your success depended on how hard you worked and how bad you wanted what you were trying to achieve. I was taught as a young child that things shouldn't be handed to you; you should earn the things that you wanted. Perhaps these things have influenced my opinion on affirmative action. I believe that minorities should work just as hard as whites to get certain positions. Just because they are a person of color I don't believe they should be given a job position or accepted into an educational institution.
I have also grown up knowing that everyone, no matter race, gender, or religious affliation, should be treated equally. Everyone should be given the same advantages and no one race should be held above the others. Sometimes I think that affirmative action is a form of reverse discrimination. Affirmative action sometimes discriminates whites even though they may be more appropriate and qualified for a job than an African American who gets the position. I think that everyone should be on a level playing field especially when it comes to being accepted into a college institution or being hired for a job.
Therefore, perhaps by upbringing as a child has affected how I feel about the issue of affirmative action. People should have to earn what they get, not just be of a certain race to get advantages. Also, the most qualified and suitable person should be the one accepted and race should not be a factor. How far you get in life should be based on your hard work and determination, not your race.
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I totally understand where you are coming from. I come from a family that has many of the same beliefs that yours does. As such, I grew up believing in many of the same things that you do. Affirmative action is a hard concept for me to wrap my mind around. My parents taught me that the person who works the hardest should get the job, and that factors based on race should not come in to play. In theory, affirmative action sounds like it would be helpful to the different races, but in reality I just see it as hurting many people who have worked hard to try and get where they want to go. I guess many of my own biases are those that you have as well.
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