THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 22, 1995 TAG: 9510200631
SECTION: COMMENTARY PAGE: J1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PHILIP WALZER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 78 lines
The debate on affirmative action simmers on.
Like the rest of the nation, Hampton Roads residents are sharply divided on the issue. Some see it as reverse discrimination; others as the antidote to previous discrimination.
What may shape their viewpoints even more are contrasting visions of America.
Critics of affirmative action see it breaking the American tradition of rewarding individuals and good work. Supporters have a more cloudy view, seeing a country, pockmarked by a history of prejudice, that needs to re-establish its ideals.
Nearly 60 readers answered The Virginian-Pilot's invitation to discuss their opinions on affirmative action. Their responses were straightforward and passionate.
``Discrimination is wrong now, was wrong 30 years ago and by its very nature is wrong,'' wrote Jim Faust of Virginia Beach, an unabashed opponent. ``Therefore we should use it no longer and should never have used it. . . . It has no place in a country whose very fabric (and success) has been based upon the democratic ideals of personal worth and achievement.''
But E. Lee Johnson of Norfolk saw it differently.
``The question for Black and White Americans,'' he wrote, ``must be: Does 30 years of perceived reverse discrimination outweigh 130 years of blatant racism, prejudice and unequal treatment? Does the Constitution mean what it says in the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments?''
By nearly a three-to-one margin, readers said they objected to affirmative action. Johnson, an electronics technician with a defense contractor, blamed the economy.
``It's a turning inward,'' he said in an interview. ``The economy is getting worse, and there's more downsizing of jobs. People look at any advantage to others as a disadvantage to themselves.''
Though the Virginian-Pilot asked readers to suggest alternatives or compromises in the affirmative action debate, only a handful offered ideas.
Patty Downer of Portsmouth, for instance, suggested offering preferences, instead, to single parents. Albert Glickman, a retired Old Dominion University psychology professor, thinks blacks and whites should get together first in segregated groups, and then in mixed company, to hash out the issue.
But nearly all the respondents, whether supporters or opponents of affirmative action, refused to look beyond their own positions or propose compromises.
``There's just no middle ground,'' Faust said in an interview. ``You either do it or you don't. It's like getting pregnant.''
Especially in light of the racially divided reaction to the O.J. Simpson verdict, many see little hope of resolving the conflict.
``The gulf,'' Faust said, ``is wider than we thought.''
Johnson foresees a ``turnback to the olden times . . . and a growing era of protest and disillusionment''
But Dianne Chatman of Norfolk was more optimistic. She wrote: ``There must be a way, if we think hard enough, to satisfy most concerns/problems regarding affirmative action in such a way that the country will be better off.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photos
CHARLIE MEADS/The Virginian-Pilot
Victor Reveron, Virginia Beach
D. KEVIN ELLIOTT/The Virginian-Pilot
Jim Faust, Virginia Beach
BILL TIERNAN/The Virginian-Pilot
Albert Glickman, Norfolk
KEYWORDS: COMMUNITY CONVERSATION AFFIRMATIVE ACTION by CNB