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Is affirmative action fair?

A case for

To answer this question, we must first understand what affirmative action is and its purpose. The point of it is to correct an imbalance. Help right the wrongs caused by systemic oppression. The goal of affirmative action is not to punish the majority but to stop punishing the minority.

The first objection

You're describing the intent, not the outcome. Affirmative action doesn't correct systemic oppression—it replaces it with individual punishment. A poor white kid from Appalachia gets rejected so a wealthy Black kid from Manhattan gets in. That's not justice, that's swapping who gets hurt. If you actually cared about fixing systemic problems, you'd target poverty and education gaps, not skin color. Why skin color?

1 selected case on record

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Cases on record

vs Devil's advocate · 14w ago

72–61

Human opening

To answer this question, we must first understand what affirmative action is and its purpose. The point of it is to correct an imbalance. Help right the wrongs caused by systemic oppression. The goal of affirmative action is not to punish the majority but to stop punishing the minority.

First rebuttal

You're describing the intent, not the outcome. Affirmative action doesn't correct systemic oppression—it replaces it with individual punishment. A poor white kid from Appalachia gets rejected so a wealthy Black kid from Manhattan gets in. That's not justice, that's swapping who gets hurt. If you actually cared about fixing systemic problems, you'd target poverty and education gaps, not skin color. Why skin color?

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Adjacent motions

Is cancel culture justice or mob rule?→Is marriage an outdated institution?→Is college worth it anymore?→Is meritocracy a myth?→Should voting be mandatory?→Should all drugs be legalized?→
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