AFFIRMATIVE ACTION

In the end affirmative action only increases discrimination rather than do what it was designed to do and get rid of it. As this wall between different co-workers builds there is a large amount of stress placed on minority groups to succeed. This stress only makes minorities less successful by putting an immense pressure on them to do well because they always feel they have to prove themselves.
             Another thing to consider is the mental state of minorities who either get jobs or are accepted to schools. To know the only reason you were accepted was because of your race or gender can damage anyone's mind state. Known as "stereotype threat" which is "how racial and gender stereotypes, floating and abstract though they might seem, can affect concrete things, like grades, test scores, and academic identity" (Steele 211). This is just another disadvantage put onto minorities through affirmative action which makes it even harder for them to become successful.
             The most apparent and disturbing flaw in affirmative action is how it cheats more deserving students out of something they have earned and rewards minorities something they haven't. For someone to work harder than a minority individual their whole lives and both apply to a school and only the minority student gets in is a tragedy. This shows how completely unfair affirmative action really is. It is unfair to families, parents, and teachers who invest time and money into these kids who are then told someone else was accepted not because they worked harder or had more to offer, but just because their father was black or Spanish while you"re father was white.
             Affirmative action is a way we try to achieve equality. The problem is it is no longer race or gender that is creating an unequal America but their social class. There are now enough people in minority status who are out of the lower class that are receiving full benefits of affirmative action.