IN CONTRAST TO SOCIAL COSMETICS
BY SARAH SPIKER

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While researching this week, I came across a Detroit News Article that contrasted the ideas of equal dignity and equal results. Today, affirmative action advocates try to create equal numbers: they contrast the stark divisions in college enrollment, income, wealth, and healthcare for minorities and privileged classes. However, the article challenges that viewpoint, arguing that the original intent of affirmative minority policies was in a search for equal dignity when it says: “The fight for equal dignity… was derailed by a quest for political clout and bling.”

Social Cosmetics, as the article describes the term, is based in the idea of equality through numbers. It compares the numbers of Whites v. Blacks v. Hispanics v. Native Americans v. Asian Americans in home size, education, income, wealth, power, etc and asks: are the numbers equal? The numbers will never be equal. Although the numbers do point out disparities, living solely by the numbers can make individuals miss out on the original intent of affirmative action policies. The article specifically discusses justice which should be helpful for debaters on both sides. White commentary on Obama during his presidential race identified, according to the article, a lack of respect and dignity for minorities.

There are a substantial number of articles out there that indicate that affirmative action policies make minorities appear weak. Women are respected because they are not perceived as reaching positions of power on their own. Blacks find difficulty in getting hired after college because employers think someone just “passed” them through school. If the Con team can prove that the process of affirmative action undervalues the individual minority, then affirmative action is not justified through the lens of dignity. Pro teams may frame the argument to suit their purposes as well: minorities are not valued and affirmative action is needed to increase their visibility and therefore the dignity and respect paid to them. This article would make the basis of an interesting framework argument that disputes affirmative action’s underlying ideology: pursuit of equal outcomes v. pursuit of equal dignity as a way to create a just principle for or against affirmative action.

In closing, I will leave you with the most powerful line in the article: “Disadvantaged blacks are generationally doomed until we recognize that social mobility flows from the expansion in tandem of dignity and freedom, not from pursuing the siren songs of riches and power.”

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