Equal Opportunity

Differences in Natural AbilitiesI did not avoid the subject as my opponent suggested, and I did not drop a single topic discussed by con. Everyone has their own natural disability, and every disability is capable of being overcome. The probability of someone with MR to overcome their disability rests on the individual, same goes for geniuses too. Everyone has an equal opportunity to advance, regardless of their disabilities. People with MR are not confined to the jobs I listed. There are colleges designed to teach people with MR. For the sake of argument, here's some careers that are related to the jobs people with MR excel in. A construction project manager can make up to $115,440 annually; that places them in the Upper Class. By attending college someone with MR can obtain a job as Project Manager. (1) A Product Line Manager can make up to $141,283 annually, which places them in the upper class; someone with MR can become a line manager, with a college education. (2)College Admission equalityCollege admission levels are equal, regarding acceptance, due to the equal treatment guarantee of Section 504 of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act of 1973; (3) as for the number of MR students who apply, it is again up to the individual. When people like con tell the individual they will not go far in life, due to their disability, the individual has a choice, many choose to prove them wrong.“Does a mentally retarded child and a Shaquille O'Neal/Kobe Bryant (as a child) have the same chance of improving social class?” MR has no bearing on athletic ability. Someone with MR can easily be the next Kobe or O'Neal. http://www.youtube.com...Equal Opportunity in employment.Con said "If certain job opportunities are immediately declined to individuals with certain difficulties than 'equal opportunity' cannot possible be claimed.”Well, it's illegal to decline someone's job application due to a disability, according to the Americans with Disabilities Act. (4) Doing so would open a door to a law suit.People with disabilities are more than capable of regular careers. One example is Brad Cohen, who has Tourette syndrome. Cohen managed to become a very successful teacher, who won awards for his teaching ability. He has authored books, met the president, and even had a documentary made about his success.http://www.youtube.com...Another example would be Kyle Maynard, who has no arms and no legs, and is undefeated in wrestling, and has studied Jui Jitsu, as well as participating in MMA.http://www.youtube.com...Differences in Economic and Cultural Upbringing I did not ignore "economic differences and allocation of income within social classes." I pointed out that you had it backwards "Insufficient income allocation in a given household to pursue a talentthat a child possesses.”My Grandfather R.J. Hannon grew up poor in a New England mill town (Webster MA), during the Great Depression. He later became a CEO and VP of a corporation. (5)Just because you are poor, does not mean you can't succeed.Different conceptions of "goodness" advanced by different cultures implying different "good" outcomes. As stated in my last argument, one's socio-economic class helps determine their socio-cultural class. Until one gets out of their socio-economic class, they remain in that socio-cultural class. The socio-cultural class has no bearing on the socio-economic class.When it's easier to make money illegally, it becomes more appealing than making money legally. It has nothing to do with good and evil, it has to do with, the appeal. For example, Jesse James found it more appealing to rob banks, and trains than to toil away on a farm in a devastated economy. (6)The individual has a choice, and the environment of the individual does not change this fact. Gang PressureGangs don't force enlistment into their organization. Street gangs often try to appeal to those they enlist. Forcing one to join a gang, doesn't create loyalty amongst the gang members pressed into the group. Furthermore, initiations usually involve severe beatings, so threats on the individual arepointless. The driving force behind all Gangs is money. When recruiting that is the main pitch, while there may be secondary pitches, such as ideology, family, and social acceptance. Ideology is one of the main pitches used to recruit urban middle class kids.Gangs are not confined to the Ghettos, and the poor; the urban middle class kids also are recruited by gang members. The socio-economic situation of the Ghetto kids allow for a stronger sales pitch by recruiter. As stated before, it's about the money.Ultimately it is up to the Individual to join or to decline. Although joining is voluntary once they join, they cannot leave, but again, it was their own choice.http://www.youtube.com...Con stated;"When asked about the perceptions of gang participation, 59% of youths identified as juvenile delinquents indicated that peer pressure and the absence of family bonding were the main factors of perpetuating gang participation" Peer pressure is a choice. No one is forcing you, they are influencing you. If peer pressure is forcing one to join a gang, than a vacuum salesman is forcing you to buy a vacuum.High School DiplomaMy opponent asked, "If someone has learned nothing in High School how can we expect them to succeed in college level courses?"If they learned nothing, they would not have their GED or Diploma. The quality of education is meaningless, so long as the basics are taught. I was absent most of high-school, and the teachers were not very good to begin with, yet I managed to get a 3.7 GPA in college, and I managed to make the Dean's list every year I've attended. If one has a GED or a Diploma, it means they have the basic skills needed for college. (7)One does not go to college already knowing what they are to be learning, one goes to college in order to learn. If I were t pursue a English major, I would be taught, in college, the skills needed.Meta-IssuesThe individual's motivation and drive is most certainly the core factors behind their own success. Just because one is MR does not mean they cannot achieve a higher socio-economic-class, I have already addressed this, and I believe I have sufficiently proven my point.Possibility and probabilityThe resolution states; "This debate will focus on the real life prospects of individuals born with different natural abilities."(n) prospect (the possibility of future success) I have been focusing on the Possibility because that is what is in the resolution. If Con wanted, this debate to be about probability, than Con should have put it in the resolution. So far I have proven the prospect quite clearly. Everything my opponent claims to hinder equal opportunity is possible to be overcome. Probability rests on the shoulder of the individual; therefore probability is not a decent argument. Bibliography 1. Pay Scale. Salary for Project Manager, Construction Jobs. [Online] Dec 20, 2011. http://www.payscale.com.... 2. —. Salary for Product Line Manager Jobs. [Online] Dec 14, 2011. http://www.payscale.com.... 3. Jones, Larry A. and Moe, Randi. College Education for Mentally Retarded Adults. [Online] 1980. http://www.eric.ed.gov.... 4. Americans with Disabilities Act. [Online] http://www.ada.gov.... 5. Hannon, Robert J. Robert Hannon to Chris Langan. mega society. [Online] Aug 31, 1992. http://www.megasociety.org.... 6. History Channel. Old West. [Online] http://www.history.com.... 7. Ormsby, Michael. GED Diploma or High School Diploma? What’s Best for You? . [Online] http://www.passged.com....