Thoughts on Affirmative Action

Interesting post up at "Slate" in which the daughter of a Jewish woman whose parents survived the Holocaust, an African-American conservative father whose parents were both civil rights workers who is married to an African-American that comes from a long line of Christian, gun-toting, so called "Cajun Cowboys" fails to qualify as a viable diversity writer for TV sitcoms.

Just so we're clear on her background...

Takeaway:

When I look back, I have to laugh at my failed attempts to be hired as a diversity writer.

Sour grapes? Perhaps, a little. But the process confirmed my suspicions about the dehumanizing aspects of affirmative action. Even if I had gotten hired, would it have been OK for somebody to inquire about the color of my father's skin in an interview for a sitcom, or to point out the ratio of white blood to black blood coursing through my veins?

As diverse as I am, I couldn't seem to make myself over as a diversity candidate. I couldn't be the stereotype they wanted.

Worth reading. Personally, this is the sort of thing that I tend to back away from because as a white male (undeniably, objectively a member most definitely of a privileged class), I tend to feel that I'm not in a position to weigh in on questions like this. That said, I would note that affirmative action initiatives often are put together by people just like me.