I'm impressed that this conversation has remained civil. More civil debate on this topic in our nation would do wonders to improve the racial tensions we deal with.

I think AA is a perfect example of good legislation that has been bent by execution to suite special interests at times. My impression (as several above stated) is that the point was to prevent discrimination between equally qualified people of different race,gender, etc. I agree that if all other factors are equal, the population of the career should match the general population. This is where we go wrong. Someone decided that means that we need to lower standards at times to entice minority groups into jobs. I don't think that was the point of the legislation.

I'm all for outreach programs to improve the distribution among the applicant pools and I agree that if everyone is qualified, there should be an even distribution. The problem is defining "equally qualified".

I think part of the problem(in today's times) starts with what value different communities put into education. I went to a fairly diverse high school (I too fall into the blinding caucasion bucket) and was horrified at some of the comments made to one of my African American classmates. We were enrolled in an AP Physics class where he was the only African American student and he was doing quite well. I remember distinctly when he was confront by some of his friends who declared that he "sounded too white" when he spoke. I think the pressures on young minority men and women to confrom to a culture that doesn't value education and non-material success is a large source of the tensions we as a society feel today. I get the impression that its not considered ok to succeed in fields dominated by white men because then you are considered a sell out.

Outreach programs to all young people to show them that there is more to life than instant gratification, bling, and money are critical to the continuing prowess of our society. This is a problem that all members of our society are going to face as we progress. Hard work isn't considered rewarding anymore unless you are given a trophy everyday.