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Sapphire got a call tonight from some barely intelligible woman who asked her a few questions about Proposition 54. I had no idea what it was, nor did she. There's a web site and whatnot, but I was wondering what the pros and cons are, if anyone else on here knows about it. It's really tough to tell someone whether you'll vote for it with very little information. Any advice would be appreciated.
Prop. 54 is the Racial Privacy Initiative. I think that the gist of it is that it makes it illegal to ask for your race on many government forms...
Im not voting for it, because well race is already an optional question (you dont have to answer it if you dont want to), and some funding is race-related... for example if a study finds that say more black people get AIDs (or whatever), more funding can go to fighting AIDs in inner city hospitals.
As for pros... well it makes every form race-blind, I guess.
I think its to try to lessen the importance of race and make everything more "diverse". But if you ask me, thats kinda missing the point... I mean sure the state government can deny that race matters in everyday life, but anybody who has at least half a brain knows that it still matters in today's America and is still very significant, and the government turning a blind eye to the problem... well its like the whole politicially correct thing. That doesn't solve anything, does it? And neither will the government not acknowledging people's race.
For example, it would mean that the state univerisities cannot ask for what race you are on the application... but this also means that they cant compile stats on the subject. I dont think this is good.. because, say, for UCLA, blacks are very underrepresented, and everyone knows it. That's not really a good thing... so now the UC can focus on trying to get more qualified black people into the school. Which they should (if they belong here, they should be here).
I think Proposition 54 is a bad idea overall... and I know the University of California does not support it. I believe that we should be open about race, because hiding it will not make the racial problems go away. However, this is just my opinion.
Oh, and who the hell is Sapphire?
Sapphire is SapphirePhoenix here on TNL. She hasn't posted in some time. But she's my special lady. :)
Enjoying a Stripper Squeeze from Surf City Squeeze.
Thanks for the info, by the way. I'm definitely against it.
Oh... okay... in any case I hope that my little brief helped a bit.
There are counter arguments that say it is exactly this sort of racial classification that perpetuates and exarcebates many of the race problems we have in this country, and the motives behind racial classification may not always be as pure and helpful as you think it might be.
http://www.calcentral.com/~propositi...s/default.html
I suggest you read arguments from both sides of the issue before making up your mind. From the polls I've seen, it looks like this proposition will pass by a large margin.
uhm, which would be illegal....since Prop 209 abolished Affirmative Action in California about 6 years ago...Quote:
That's not really a good thing... so now the UC can focus on trying to get more qualified black people into the school. Which they should (if they belong here, they should be here).
Its not a matter of affirmative action dude... its more outreach than anything. Its not, "get X number of black people in our school", its "find black people who belong here but arent going because theyre stuck in the slums or whatever". BIG DIFFERENCE. And didnt the Supreme Court say that some sort of racial-based admissions are okay? Hmm...
Yeah - Proposition 54 is unnecessary and over-reactionary, for the reasons diffusionX mentions.