Reverse Discrimination Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Reverse Discrimination - Term Paper Example Reverse Discrimination The claim of reverse discrimination linked to affirmative action has become a leading argument against the affirmative action policy (Beauchamp, 2007). â€Å"The charge of reverse discrimination rests on the implicit premise that whites are denied access to advantages to which they are entitled, and which they would have obtained had not preference been given to minorities† (Livingston 1979, 40). Reverse discrimination was the basis for Barbara Grutter's lawsuit against the University of Michigan Law School. Grutter maintained that because she had higher scores than the minorities that were accepted into the program, the law school discriminated against her on the basis of race. Reverse discrimination advocates argue that by favoring minorities, the affirmative action plan discriminates against the majority. In Grutter, a qualified member of the majority was denied admission while a less qualified minority was admitted which depicts the perfect illustrat ion of how affirmative action is reverse discrimination. ... Those who defend the premise that affirmative action serves as reverse discrimination adduce that discrimination is unconstitutional. If past discrimination is unjust, so is discrimination against whites (Livingston 1979). Preferential Treatment Critics of affirmative actions content that preferential treatment is not necessary to eliminate discrimination since existing protection prohibiting discrimination will suffice. Moreover, affirmative action creates further injustice through what critics contend is actually reverse discrimination. Vocal critics of race based quotas point out that such policies undermine American ideological notions of individuality and personal responsibility, treating the group as the measure of significance and not the individual (Berry 1996). The concept of a "colorblind" society originated in Justice John M. Harlan's dissent in Plessy v. Ferguson, 163 U.S. 537 (1896). Justice Harlan wrote, There is no caste here. Our Constitution is color-blind and neithe r knows nor tolerates classes among citizens. In respect of civil rights, all citizens are equal before the law. The humblest is the peer of the most powerful. The law regards man as man, and takes no account of his surroundings or of his color when his civil rights as guaranteed by the supreme law of the land are involved (Berry 1996, 138). In Plessy, â€Å"the Court upheld a Louisiana statute, passed in 1890, which provided for separate railway carriages for white and colored races† (Goring 2000, 4). Through Plessy and other Supreme Court decisions, the notion of a "colorblind" society has become an integral argument against affirmative action. Advocates of a "colorblind" society maintain that Because race really is, and properly only would be, a matter of unchosen appearance

Reflection paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 30

Reflection paper - Essay Example illiant work of American FBI agents and their valuable experience, they still sometimes miss important facts just because the crime is committed by a person who simply could not be suspected of committing any crime. The case of Robert Hanssen was one of such cases which seem hopeless. The most unpleasant moment in the investigation is the desire of agents not to find a spy, but to close the case. They started suspecting an innocent man Brian Kelly and traced him everywhere until he was fired from job. They caused many troubles to him, but the real violator remained free and unsuspected. Finally, looking for the evidences of Brian’s non-existed guilt, they got the file with the proofs of spies work in the Soviet Union from the ex-agent of KGB for $7 million. Inside the file they found an audio record of a conversation. They were sure that they would hear the voice of Brian Kelly and were unpleasantly surprised when heard a voice of a different man, unknown, but a bit familiar. Finally one of the agents recognized the voice: it was the voice of Robert Hanssen. It is also known that they found the fingerprints of Hanssen on one of the document and recognized the voice only after that. But we can hardy state that he would be suspected only due to fingerprints. Criminalists are currently facing a very serious problem connected with the interpretation of fingerprints. They doubt if they should believe this method. If genetic dactyloscopy can be considered an absolutely reliable method of personality identification provided that the selection was made correctly, plain analysis of fingerprints frequently leads to mistakes. Widespread belief in the uniqueness of papillary lines for each person is rather a product of intuition, but not of the scientific investigation. Such belief is not supported by any scientific method, theoretical model or empirical evidence. The wide application of a method can’t guarantee its credibility. During many years the best Eur opean