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President Johnson introduced the concept of affirmative action during a 1965 speech at Howard University when he used the metaphor of the shackled runner. He argued that because blacks had been unfairly held back in the past, they should be allowed to begin the race a little ahead of the starting line.
He was advocating affirmative action as a temporary expedient designed to help a race which was considered to be intrinsically equal to whites.
From such humble origins affirmative action has become a permanent entitlement that is granted to any race with a history of lower than white achievement levels. This is considered necessary to achieve diversity. We are told that diversity is our strength, although we are never told just what the advantages of diversity are.
I think diversity is only useful if there is no diversity of talent.
If whites attend school with or work with blacks who are obviously less intelligent than nearly all of the whites the experience is not likely to dispel racial prejudice; it is likely to increase it.
When you talk about white achievement, as if white people are being personally disadvantaged, please consider the facts. In states like CA where AA was tossed out, it's mostly Asians getting into the top schools now, and whites are becoming a minority in the US.