Affirmative Action
Reading Rich's xanga page reminded me of the political blog I wrote a while back on Affirmative Action. I never posted it, because it's about as long as my Iraq Political Blog and I get tired myself just from skimming through it. So I'll write a shorter (but still long) "abridged" version here.
I believe that we do need some extent of affirmative action in this country, but I also feel that it is already being enforced too much right now. The reason we need it is because by human nature, the majority always tends to discriminate against the minority. Without affirmative action, there is little to no incentive for the establishment to change, and incorporate minorities.
So if we use the concept correctly, it would hopefully work to balance out some of the inequalities due to racism and prejudice. But if we use too much, it puts unqualified people in the wrong positions and hurts our country as a whole.
Now, I think most of us who have been through college have witnessed some form of affirmative action at one point or another. In the college admissions process alone, there are many opportunities available to "underrepresented minorities" that are not out there for the rest. In scholarships, in applying for TA positions, student government boards, pretty much anything, affirmative action is already quite present. This is something I can attest to and if you don't know what I'm talking about, you could ask me to share with you some specific stories.
Colleges can deny all they want that affirmative action hurts anyone, but here's a question I have for them: if there was one spot open in the U of I Engineering school, and two applicants with the exact same credentials (GPA, test scores, etc) were being considered, would they choose the White Male or Black Female? If you were Mr. White Male and you got rejected for no other reason than not being a part of an "underrepresented minority", would you agree that affirmative action doesn't hurt anyone?
The thing is, we want there to be equal opportunity for everyone to succeed, which does not necessarily always translate a uniform distribution of demographics in all aspects of society. Currently, colleges and most employers already drool over any underrepresented minority applicants who have decent credentials. I'm pretty confident in saying that there is no lack of opportunity for these people to succeed.
Unfortunately in many cases, there is an excess of affirmative action that ends up taking away jobs or opportunities from people who have earned them, and giving them to those less deserving. An analogy I would think of is the NFL. What if GMs were forced to draft more Asians to balance out the league, like each team needs at least 5 Chinese guys? If this were to happen, the quality of competition in the league would be greatly diminished, not to mention it's pretty insulting to the 5 token Chinks on each team, wouldn't you say? No, the NFL drafts people based purely on skill and qualifications, the way it should be.
But let's put this in more serious terms. If you were having triple bypass surgery, would you want a surgeon who was the best in his/her field, or one that got through medical school being helped along because he/she was an underrepresented minority? Or, would you rather be driving on a bridge designed by Black, White, Pink, or Yellow engineers? The reality is, you definitely wouldn't want race to matter at all, you would always want the one who is best qualified for his/her job.
I have another question to pose, that might end up getting me flamed. But I have to ask, do white people choose to discriminate against Black people, Hispanic people, Native Americans, and women, more than they discriminate against Asians or Jews? The reason I ask is because most of the first-generation Asians came here with little more than a few bucks in their pocket. Many of them were not particularly well-educated, nor did they speak good English.
But for some reason, you see that there is a disproportionately large amount of Asians in top universities and high class jobs today. I'm quite sure that opportunities were not equal for my own mom and dad when they immigrated here, but they still managed to achieve a respectable amount of success. Whether they opened a restaurant or started a dry cleaning shop, Asians have ended up being among the tops in per-capita income and enjoy a relatively high standard of living in this country.
Without going any further and making people sick with my AZN pride (no forks in the house chopsticks only...), the point I'm trying to make is that I think opportunities have been there for minorities to succeed, and they are more present today than ever. And that's all you can really ask for, is an opportunity, a decent shot at making it in life.
So if there's already opportunity for all of us, any of the cries for more affirmative action is a counterproductive cause. I think it's to the point right now where people point to the lack of affirmative action as a convenient excuse for failure. Maybe if the whiners would transfer the energy they spend complaining about lack of affirmative action and focus their efforts on working hard, saving money for education, etc., we wouldn't need it to begin with. That's the attitude we should all have, to work hard and take care of your own biznass before pointing fingers elsewhere. It would definitely solve a lot of problems, I must say.
Saturday, March 22, 2003
Thursday, March 20, 2003
More Randomness
- I'm tired of talking about Iraq. Everything has been argued to death by now and whether or not you agree with the war, can we at least pull together and make our troops feel supported and appreciated?
- Illini win and my bracket is still alive... too bad I took SIU going to the Elite Eight, otherwise I would be in good position in the pool. My Final Four: Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan State, Louisville. With Illini over Louisville in the final.
- A big day is coming soon... March 24th. If anyone is wondering what gift to get me for when I turn 23 and 1/6th years old, something I've been eyeing is the Toshiba e750 Pocket PC. I have been meaning to get into the world of PDAs for a while now, but haven't been able to pull the trigger as of yet. At Christmas, I almost bought myself the e740, but then there were rumors of the 750 coming out in 1st Quarter 2003 with a bigger, better screen and more memory, so I held out. And now this bad boy is finally released:
Call me a nerd if you will, but I don't care cause that's what I am, and chicks dig it. In junior high, my calculator watch was my best friend. In high school, it was the TI-85 (remember ZShell?). Then I had to go through college without a true nerdy gadget, I got by with an MP3 player and lots 'o' Starcraft. Now, it's finally time for me to return to nerd-dom.
- I didn't get to wash my car last weekend when it was nice out, but I will not be foiled again this weekend. Maybe I will even wash my old baby, the Maxima, cause my sis is gonna be back for Spring Break.
- It feels really weird not having a Spring Break for once. Not that it was ever a big thing for me, the only place I remember going on break was Vegas a couple years back. But I get kind of bitter because it reminds me that only one year ago at this time, I was playing euchre and video games all the time, going to Lake Clinton, playing softball, having barbeques, chilling on the Quad, shooting pool, lifting and playing scrub tennis at IMPE in the mornings, taking 6 hour naps at noon, tossing garbage bags off my balcony (3-TWELVE!!), playing quarters and taps, with some occasional studying thrown in. I almost even miss the times spent in ECE Senior Design Lab.... well not really. But even though there's no Spring Break for me anymore, my job is still cool in that we get 2 weeks off for Christmas/New Years. So I'm not gonna complain too much.
- So far I have 5 vacation days. I'm thinking about whether to save them up more, or just go ahead and take a week off one of these days. Or I guess I could maybe use only a couple days and go somewhere on an extended weekend. Like 4 days in Florida sounds pretty good right about now.
- I just realized that I'm writing a lot about stuff that would cost me some mad cash. I should really be saving my checks for a down payment on a house.
Well actually, right now property value is way too high for me... and certain experts warn of a real estate bubble that is ready to burst any time. Not that I necessarily trust the so-called "experts", but it really could be that housing prices are lagging the economy and stock market because of the low interest rates. Everyone says a house is the best investment, which is not untrue, but I think I'm gonna hold off on looking for my own place for at least a year or so. A lot of people think property value never falls, but that's not a fact. Not to mention the costs of owning a home, such as taxes and utilities.
Anyways, I'm not really ready to be taking care of a house, buying furniture, etc. But back to what I was saying - I should probably be saving my money as much as possible. Easier said than done, but we'll see.
- Yet another example of why most celebrities need to shut the flux up: Natalie Maines (Dixie Chicks lead singer) tells a foreign crowd last week that she is "ashamed" that President Bush is from Texas. She comes home to America, and people are pissed, ready to boycott her album, so she immediately apologizes and retracts what she said.
Here's the thing - I'm not against free speech, and while she could have been more respectful about it, it's certainly her right to criticize our President. But if you're gonna say something you believe, have the guts to stand by it. Don't try to please the anti-war crowd one minute and then pander to the pro-Bush side the next.
Moral of the story: Celebrities, even more so than politicians, love to be popular and need to feel important, so they act accordingly. Like I've said before, they're much better off just singing and acting. Our President and his advisors, meanwhile, have been doing their job, acting in what they believe is the best interest of this country and its people. Despite resistance from the shortsighted public, who opposes war against Iraq at all costs, Bush has risked his popularity and stuck his neck out, standing by his beliefs all along. And for that, I must say we all need to give him props.
- I'm tired of talking about Iraq. Everything has been argued to death by now and whether or not you agree with the war, can we at least pull together and make our troops feel supported and appreciated?
- Illini win and my bracket is still alive... too bad I took SIU going to the Elite Eight, otherwise I would be in good position in the pool. My Final Four: Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan State, Louisville. With Illini over Louisville in the final.
- A big day is coming soon... March 24th. If anyone is wondering what gift to get me for when I turn 23 and 1/6th years old, something I've been eyeing is the Toshiba e750 Pocket PC. I have been meaning to get into the world of PDAs for a while now, but haven't been able to pull the trigger as of yet. At Christmas, I almost bought myself the e740, but then there were rumors of the 750 coming out in 1st Quarter 2003 with a bigger, better screen and more memory, so I held out. And now this bad boy is finally released:
Call me a nerd if you will, but I don't care cause that's what I am, and chicks dig it. In junior high, my calculator watch was my best friend. In high school, it was the TI-85 (remember ZShell?). Then I had to go through college without a true nerdy gadget, I got by with an MP3 player and lots 'o' Starcraft. Now, it's finally time for me to return to nerd-dom.
- I didn't get to wash my car last weekend when it was nice out, but I will not be foiled again this weekend. Maybe I will even wash my old baby, the Maxima, cause my sis is gonna be back for Spring Break.
- It feels really weird not having a Spring Break for once. Not that it was ever a big thing for me, the only place I remember going on break was Vegas a couple years back. But I get kind of bitter because it reminds me that only one year ago at this time, I was playing euchre and video games all the time, going to Lake Clinton, playing softball, having barbeques, chilling on the Quad, shooting pool, lifting and playing scrub tennis at IMPE in the mornings, taking 6 hour naps at noon, tossing garbage bags off my balcony (3-TWELVE!!), playing quarters and taps, with some occasional studying thrown in. I almost even miss the times spent in ECE Senior Design Lab.... well not really. But even though there's no Spring Break for me anymore, my job is still cool in that we get 2 weeks off for Christmas/New Years. So I'm not gonna complain too much.
- So far I have 5 vacation days. I'm thinking about whether to save them up more, or just go ahead and take a week off one of these days. Or I guess I could maybe use only a couple days and go somewhere on an extended weekend. Like 4 days in Florida sounds pretty good right about now.
- I just realized that I'm writing a lot about stuff that would cost me some mad cash. I should really be saving my checks for a down payment on a house.
Well actually, right now property value is way too high for me... and certain experts warn of a real estate bubble that is ready to burst any time. Not that I necessarily trust the so-called "experts", but it really could be that housing prices are lagging the economy and stock market because of the low interest rates. Everyone says a house is the best investment, which is not untrue, but I think I'm gonna hold off on looking for my own place for at least a year or so. A lot of people think property value never falls, but that's not a fact. Not to mention the costs of owning a home, such as taxes and utilities.
Anyways, I'm not really ready to be taking care of a house, buying furniture, etc. But back to what I was saying - I should probably be saving my money as much as possible. Easier said than done, but we'll see.
- Yet another example of why most celebrities need to shut the flux up: Natalie Maines (Dixie Chicks lead singer) tells a foreign crowd last week that she is "ashamed" that President Bush is from Texas. She comes home to America, and people are pissed, ready to boycott her album, so she immediately apologizes and retracts what she said.
Here's the thing - I'm not against free speech, and while she could have been more respectful about it, it's certainly her right to criticize our President. But if you're gonna say something you believe, have the guts to stand by it. Don't try to please the anti-war crowd one minute and then pander to the pro-Bush side the next.
Moral of the story: Celebrities, even more so than politicians, love to be popular and need to feel important, so they act accordingly. Like I've said before, they're much better off just singing and acting. Our President and his advisors, meanwhile, have been doing their job, acting in what they believe is the best interest of this country and its people. Despite resistance from the shortsighted public, who opposes war against Iraq at all costs, Bush has risked his popularity and stuck his neck out, standing by his beliefs all along. And for that, I must say we all need to give him props.
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Randomness From Work
- Blogspot and Haloscan (commenting) have been acting pretty unreliable lately. I've had trouble posting blogs, reading blogs, losing comments, disabled comments, slow loading, etc. I'm sorry if any of you have had problems with my page. With all the problems, I think I might have to switch it all over to Xanga eventually. Actually, a better idea would be for me to learn more HTML and web design, find a good hosting service, and start my own independent page. We'll have to see.
- This week could possibly be my last week of OT. Next week I'm doing this training class M-F so I won't be working any extra hours then. After that, I think I'll be able to go back to 40 hour weeks and get everything done.
- I think I have emotional issues, maybe to the point of having a physiological imbalance of chemicals in my brain. This morning on the way to work, I saw a duck crossing Hicks Rd. with his woman. Of course all the traffic stopped for them, and I was like "awwwwww, how cute". Nearly brought a tear to my eye, I'm not even joking. I don't know when I became such a weenie, but it must have been recently that it happened. It wasn't too long ago when I wanted to shoot birds of all kinds for taking their dumps on my car and waking me up in the morning with their stupid chirping.
- I'm psyched to play softball and/or football. Hopefully the weather is warm.
- We're gonna have to wait a couple more days for BASEBALL OPENING DAY 2003 because of the war and cancelling games in Japan, but I'll live. Especially with the BIG DANCE kicking off this Thursday - Illini vs. Western Kentucky, the first step on the road to Anaheim, and hopefully to New Orleans after that.
- As far as I know, March 25th is still the release date of Linkin Park's METEORA. I fully plan on getting this CD when it comes out, it should be a good one. As good as Norah Jones and ZWAN have been for the past couple months, my CD player in my car is long due for some fresh shiznit.
- I'm trying to decide whether or not to start a DVD collection. So far all I got are Crossroads (Britney Spears) and Once Upon A Time In China (Jet Li), both gifts from people. The 8 Mile DVD is tempting with the special features and all, but I know once I start buying, the floodgates will be opened and it will end up being like at least an average $50 drain on my credit card per month. If they come out with a Home Alone 1/2 box set with special features though... it's over. "A lovely cheese pizza, just for me"
- Blogspot and Haloscan (commenting) have been acting pretty unreliable lately. I've had trouble posting blogs, reading blogs, losing comments, disabled comments, slow loading, etc. I'm sorry if any of you have had problems with my page. With all the problems, I think I might have to switch it all over to Xanga eventually. Actually, a better idea would be for me to learn more HTML and web design, find a good hosting service, and start my own independent page. We'll have to see.
- This week could possibly be my last week of OT. Next week I'm doing this training class M-F so I won't be working any extra hours then. After that, I think I'll be able to go back to 40 hour weeks and get everything done.
- I think I have emotional issues, maybe to the point of having a physiological imbalance of chemicals in my brain. This morning on the way to work, I saw a duck crossing Hicks Rd. with his woman. Of course all the traffic stopped for them, and I was like "awwwwww, how cute". Nearly brought a tear to my eye, I'm not even joking. I don't know when I became such a weenie, but it must have been recently that it happened. It wasn't too long ago when I wanted to shoot birds of all kinds for taking their dumps on my car and waking me up in the morning with their stupid chirping.
- I'm psyched to play softball and/or football. Hopefully the weather is warm.
- We're gonna have to wait a couple more days for BASEBALL OPENING DAY 2003 because of the war and cancelling games in Japan, but I'll live. Especially with the BIG DANCE kicking off this Thursday - Illini vs. Western Kentucky, the first step on the road to Anaheim, and hopefully to New Orleans after that.
- As far as I know, March 25th is still the release date of Linkin Park's METEORA. I fully plan on getting this CD when it comes out, it should be a good one. As good as Norah Jones and ZWAN have been for the past couple months, my CD player in my car is long due for some fresh shiznit.
- I'm trying to decide whether or not to start a DVD collection. So far all I got are Crossroads (Britney Spears) and Once Upon A Time In China (Jet Li), both gifts from people. The 8 Mile DVD is tempting with the special features and all, but I know once I start buying, the floodgates will be opened and it will end up being like at least an average $50 drain on my credit card per month. If they come out with a Home Alone 1/2 box set with special features though... it's over. "A lovely cheese pizza, just for me"
Monday, March 17, 2003
Weekend Recap
* Saw 2 movies with the woman. First was "The Hunted", which was basically a suckier version of "Rambo: First Blood". I thought it would be good cause Benicio Del Toro is cool, but unfortunately it didn't stack up to "Usual Suspects". I don't recommend this movie, there's no real plot or character development and the fighting is pretty weak.
The other movie was "Cradle 2 The Grave". I got carded twice for the stupid movie, once at the ticket window and another time by the guy who rips your ticket stub. At least they asked Olivia for ID too so it wasn't like last year's Sox game. As for the movie, it was aight. More entertaining and worth the admission than "The Hunted". Good fight scenes, even though they were pretty much recycled from past movies. DMX is a quality actor, while Jet Li speaks perfect English. (just kidding) You all might be surprised to hear me say this, but I don't think Kelly Hu is all that. She looks too stereotypically Oriental. Although she is better looking than Lucy Liu. Anyways, the one lesson to be learned from this movie: Don't Mess With Taiwan.
* I-L-L.... Went to the UC after work on Saturday for the semifinal game of the Big Ten Tourney. We got pretty good seats at the window, first row of 300 level with a decent view.
Dee Brown is the man. Beating Indiana was nice, but half the fun of being there was booing Tom Coverdale every time he touched the ball. I thought I was the only one who hated him, but I guess I was wrong.
Sunday, watched Illini finish off Ohio State to win the little tournament. Illinois got a #4 seed in what is by far the toughest bracket, which was kind of stupid. It's all good though. Thinking back to the start of the season, this team has really exceeded expectations all the way through and I'm glad we're here. Winning the big tournament would be nice though, really nice. Can't say I totally expect it, but I think at least we can hang with any team in the country. I'm already looking forward to a possible 3rd round matchup with Arizona. Who wants to fly to Anaheim next week? Too bad I probably can't, but it would've been nice. Who knows, maybe something will work out...
* Dudo League Baseball Draft. Yes, Sunday was the day that 12 owners had been waiting for all winter. Unfortunately I didn't really prepare that much for this draft, but it turned out aight. I reunited my old pitching staff of Mussina, Kevin Brown, Greg Maddux, and Roger Clemens. Hey, 3 years ago they were awesome. This year, I just hope they stay healthy and put up serviceable numbers. My core is hitting anyways. I'm counting on repeat big seasons from A-Rod, Soriano, and Bonds. If that happens, my team should be a contender again this year, but of course there's no guarantees in baseball. That's all part of the fun.
* Craft. What weekend would be complete without its share of Starcraft? I feel the skills flowing back to me. Just need some more consistency and I'll be a force again.
Currently playing on my Winamp: Backstreet Boys - More Than That
Gotta love the 'Boys.
* Saw 2 movies with the woman. First was "The Hunted", which was basically a suckier version of "Rambo: First Blood". I thought it would be good cause Benicio Del Toro is cool, but unfortunately it didn't stack up to "Usual Suspects". I don't recommend this movie, there's no real plot or character development and the fighting is pretty weak.
The other movie was "Cradle 2 The Grave". I got carded twice for the stupid movie, once at the ticket window and another time by the guy who rips your ticket stub. At least they asked Olivia for ID too so it wasn't like last year's Sox game. As for the movie, it was aight. More entertaining and worth the admission than "The Hunted". Good fight scenes, even though they were pretty much recycled from past movies. DMX is a quality actor, while Jet Li speaks perfect English. (just kidding) You all might be surprised to hear me say this, but I don't think Kelly Hu is all that. She looks too stereotypically Oriental. Although she is better looking than Lucy Liu. Anyways, the one lesson to be learned from this movie: Don't Mess With Taiwan.
* I-L-L.... Went to the UC after work on Saturday for the semifinal game of the Big Ten Tourney. We got pretty good seats at the window, first row of 300 level with a decent view.
Dee Brown is the man. Beating Indiana was nice, but half the fun of being there was booing Tom Coverdale every time he touched the ball. I thought I was the only one who hated him, but I guess I was wrong.
Sunday, watched Illini finish off Ohio State to win the little tournament. Illinois got a #4 seed in what is by far the toughest bracket, which was kind of stupid. It's all good though. Thinking back to the start of the season, this team has really exceeded expectations all the way through and I'm glad we're here. Winning the big tournament would be nice though, really nice. Can't say I totally expect it, but I think at least we can hang with any team in the country. I'm already looking forward to a possible 3rd round matchup with Arizona. Who wants to fly to Anaheim next week? Too bad I probably can't, but it would've been nice. Who knows, maybe something will work out...
* Dudo League Baseball Draft. Yes, Sunday was the day that 12 owners had been waiting for all winter. Unfortunately I didn't really prepare that much for this draft, but it turned out aight. I reunited my old pitching staff of Mussina, Kevin Brown, Greg Maddux, and Roger Clemens. Hey, 3 years ago they were awesome. This year, I just hope they stay healthy and put up serviceable numbers. My core is hitting anyways. I'm counting on repeat big seasons from A-Rod, Soriano, and Bonds. If that happens, my team should be a contender again this year, but of course there's no guarantees in baseball. That's all part of the fun.
* Craft. What weekend would be complete without its share of Starcraft? I feel the skills flowing back to me. Just need some more consistency and I'll be a force again.
Currently playing on my Winamp: Backstreet Boys - More Than That
Gotta love the 'Boys.
Friday, March 14, 2003
"You know what you need? A little comic strip called 'Love Is...' It's about two naked eight-year olds who are married." - Homer Simpson
Maybe posting that pic will cause some people to consider me flamish, but oh well. I'm quite secure enough in my manhood and heterosexuality to include a "Love is..." thing in my blog, at least as just a one-time deal.
Anyways, you can ask me in private whether or not I think naked kids in a comic is "cute", but I definitely like what that one says. They managed to express something that I totally agree with so well, using only a few words and a cheesy little sketch. Anyone who reads my blog regularly knows that I probably would have written pages upon pages of unnecessary verbage to try to say the same thing.
I think the idea applies to all relationships, not just between a boyfriend-girlfriend, husband-wife, or naked kid-naked kid. Another nice little saying I like is "I'd rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I'm not".
I mean, everyone has faults, and to some point, it can be reasonably expected of us to change and improve ourselves over time. But what it all really comes down to is, we should all worry less about what you would change about other people, and be more concerned with what you need to change about yourself.
Other than that, all I can say is, life is short so appreciate everything for what it is. For me, I think there is already plenty to love about basically every single person I know, and I want everyone to know that I love you all.
Hugs and Kisses,
Joe
*****
Ok, hopefully that blog wasn't too gay. By the way, if anyone reading this happens to have a copy of my original essay on Britney Spears, could you send it to me? It was originally posted on my students uiuc .plan and I had it saved as a text file on my computer, but that was lost when I botched up formatting my hard drive last time. But I think I sent it as an email attachment to some people. If I can somehow track it down, I wanna re-post it here on this blog.
*****
Currently playing on my Winamp: Ben Folds Five - Brick
For some reason I went back through my collection last week and started listening to this CD again ("Whatever and ever amen"). Not a top 10, but definitely still good. So now my Winamp and my Rio are loaded with Ben Folds Five songs. By the way, I gotta say there's something about this song that is just a bit eerie to me. If you see abortion merely as a one-time act of removing a fetus, and nothing else, you should listen to this song. Really makes you think a little differently about it, that's all I can say.
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