From: sawyer@utahep.uta.edu (Lee Sawyer)
Subject: Re: a SERIOUS question about AA
News-Software: VAX/VMS VNEWS 1.41    
Organization: University of Texas at Arlington High Energy Physics Group
Distribution: soc
Date: Thu, 31 Dec 1992 18:53:00 GMT

In article <1992Dec27.175432.16634@vax5.cit.cornell.edu>, q2tj@vax5.cit.cornell.edu writes...
>[del] 
>	For people who *do* support AA, (or at least
>	do not wish for it to end at this point in time)
>	what standards would you use to determine that AA 
>	should end?
>[del] 
>	or, rephrasing:
> 
>	Is AA supposed to be a permanent beauracratic method
>	of doing bussiness?  If not permanent, then by what
>	mechanism will it end?  How will you know it's time to end?
> 
>I realize that asking these questions is a lot like asking
>"How do you know that racism no longer exists"  but that is
>a fairly serious question too, and I think that people tend
>to right these sorts of unsettling questions off too easily.
> 
>Steve Seidman
>q2tj@vax5.cit.cornell.edu
> 

    As you point out, since affirmitive action programs do not aim to end 
racism, but rather to provide an equitable environment _despite_
racism, you have in fact asked two questions, neither of which I would try 
to answer definitively, but I have some comments :

 1) As to how long AA should be in effect.
 This Christmas I have been reading _Faith and Politics_ by the
American theologian Reinhold Neibuhr(*). There is a quote appropriate
to this discussion : "...equality is the regulative principle of justice."
I may tattoo that someplace; it is a particularly succint and correct
formula. We may very well always need AA, even if there is ever a national
concensus that racism is behind us, simply because justice can only be acheived
through equal empowerment, and equality can only be guaranteed by law.

 2) How do we know when racism no longer exists ? We are in the situation
at present where many whites feel racism is in fact a thing of the past
(although the events of the past year may have shocked a few back to
reality). Clearly depending on the consensus of those traditionally racist
in their beliefs is not the answer. On the other hand, is it totally up to
those traditionally the victims of racism to say when racism is over ?
That seems to imply a great deal supposition of other peoples internal
motives and beliefs. Perhaps we can never say definitvely that racism no
longer exists, and indeed it probably never will disappear entirely.     
The best we can hope for, and this _is_ acheivable, is a consensus of what
constitutes equitable treatment (fine with me if you want to call it "PC"),
and a clear indication that most people conduct themselves accordingly.

  I see that used the term "consensus" twice in the last paragraph. Guess I am
gearing up for Jan 20...


* Incidentally, I recall reading somewhere that Neibuhr's views on Christian
social and political life in the modern world greatly influenced Martin Luther
King. In fact Dr. King's ThD dissretation may have been partially about 
Neibuhr's ideas. Can anyone shed some light on this ? What was the title of 
Dr. King's dissertation ?

       ================                           
         Lee Sawyer                                  

         Dept of Physics                          
         Univ. of Texas                            
               at Arlington