The Supremes have spoken; by a vote of 5-4 the Court upheld affirmative action as a valid variable in admissions.

Once again, the justices stopped short of supporting quotas, arguing that giving preference to under-represented groups is alright, though.

Just what does that mean, exactly? How do we define a group as being under-represented? Presumably, we have some idea of the ideal number that group should consist of; we have some idea of the cut-off point that divides under- from sufficiently-represented groups.

That is not a quota...how?

Distinctions between affirmative action and racial quotas are garbled and deceptive.

There was a time when hard work was valued in itself. There was a time when groups that were discriminated against fought back and clawed their way to the top. Look at Jews, the Irish, Greeks, Russians, Chinese, the list goes on. All were discriminated against (yes, white people discriminate against white people; and, Orientals have the same problem as blacks in that they are clearly and obviously physically different than whites and cannot hide by simply changing their names) and yet all are quite successful nowadays.

Why? Because success was never a right. Because these groups did not feel the need to have a nanny state intercede for them and force the nation to accept them. They worked for what they earned.

Yes, blacks do work for what they earn as well, but affirmative action negates that effort. Thanks to the system created to overcome discrimination, seeing a black man or a woman (or whatever under-represented group the government is helping out) in a university library or corporate boardroom cannot help but prompt the question "does he really deserve to be here, or is he just here because the law says he should?"

Instead of judging people as individuals, affirmative action forces society to see people as part of yet another under-represented racial/ethnic/whatever group.

Yet not only does it rob people of their individual dignity; it robs these groups of their self-respect. What affirmative action says, in a nutshell, is "you are impotent; you cannot succeed on your own; you need the law to help you succeed where you would otherwise fail; let mommy get that for you."

How patronizing.