Just Shut the F*ck Up

I swear to, well, who or whatever, that if I hear one more conservative say that the 2008 election is proof that we do not need affirmative action, I am going to tear my hair out. Of course, with the nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court, the conservatives are all giddy about this chance to yell at minorities about how horrible life is for white males. "White men need not apply" they scream. So let's have at it.

Yes, the Sotomayor pick is affirmative action. President Obama picked a female, and a hispanic one at that, and those traits surely played a role in his choice. I am going to state, right now, that that is a good thing. It is good that our President intentionally chose a hispanic female. As to the "White men need not apply" meme; it is not that white men need not apply, it is that, for the last couple centuries, the sign read "All but white men need not apply."

Now on to the claim that the 2008 elections demonstrated that our country no longer needs affirmative action. First off, the vast majority of the people making this claim never supported affirmative action to begin with. They do not think we no longer need it, they never wanted it at all. Let us forget that for a moment, and discuss the validity of this claim. First thing conservatives say is, "President Obama proves that anyone can make it in America." They forget one thing. That is, that President Obama says himself that he “undoubtedly benefited from affirmative action” And he did. The only reason he could afford to go to such fantastic universities is because of a strong student loan program and partial scholarships. And while these loans and scholarships did not make him who he is, to claim he did not "benefit" from them is ubsurd. And it is a non sequitur to argue that because President Obama achieved much, affirmative action is no longer needed. Just because A is true, it does not necessarily mean B is true. The only thing President Obama's story should tell us, is that affirmative action can actually do exactly what it is intended to do: help minorities take steps towards more success.

Now on to Sotomayor and the predictable conservative outcry that she was chosen only because she is a minority. This claim, is complete crap. It is the regurgitation of the unsubstantiated conservative meme that all affirmative action choices are made solely because of race or gender. I will try to state this as plainly and directly as possible: Affirmative action is not about promoting unqualified minorities, rather, it is about intentionally seeking out qualified minorities, in an effort to correct past mistakes.

Sotomayor is absolutely a qualified candidate. In fact, she is possibly the most credentialed SC nominee in my lifetime. She was chosen beacuse she is qualified. Her race did play a role in this choice, but her credentials were the priority.