Affirmative Action

Been reading a lot about Affirmative Action this week, what with the impending Supreme Court consideration of the case against the University of Michigan. I've loads of links, and a few thoughts here and there, to devote to this issue, but I'll wait until the weekend. As it stands, though, Bush's description in a recent address -- ever notice how his handlers never let him answer questions? -- of U. of Michigan's practice as a 'quota system' is a gross misrepresentation of the actual admission system in place. The root problem I find in many of the anti-Affirmative Action arguments is not that it proves unbeneficial to individuals from time to time; I think a potent case could be made that it, in fact, does. Hence, the conservative argument against it. At the same time, these arguments also tend to idealize the college admission process, making it purely about test scores and other means of ascertaining one's relative ability to function as a college student, refusing to discuss the disadvantages this places upon a large portion of the population. Even more poignant, though, is the inability, or unwillingness, to recognize that 'color-blindness' is a myth, that race is a fundamental component of individual and societal life for most Americans.

Alas, though, my time has run short; and thus, so will this post. If you and your friends never talk about this kind of thing, and youre remotely interested, take a read through the comments of those who do over on Atrios' and Michael Yglesias' blogs.

UPDATE: Derrick Jackson at the Boston Globe echoes many of the thoughts to which I furtively alluded above. Very recommended reading. I'll comment further later.