# Should the SDMB have an affirmative action policy for the conservative minority?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-sdmb-have-an-affirmative-action-policy-for-the-conservative-minority/733927>\
**Category:** About This Message Board\
**Created:** [October 8, 2015, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-sdmb-have-an-affirmative-action-policy-for-the-conservative-minority/733927 "2015-10-08T14:43:28Z")\
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**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\
**Post date:** [October 8, 2015, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-the-sdmb-have-an-affirmative-action-policy-for-the-conservative-minority/733927/13 "2015-10-08T16:49:55Z")

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As I explained in 2009, when discussing preferentially hiring black teachers for majority-black student populations:

> [@I Pit LHOD and his thread re: AA in schools](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-pit-lhod-and-his-thread-re-aa-in-schools/498658/68):
>
> The intent of the program, though, in this case is not to give an advantage to the job applicant – it’s to get a job applicant with a particular set of characteristics.
> 
> In other words, if I were casting a movie about the life of Thurgood Marshall, I would audition black actors for the part – not to give some advantage to black actors to make up for all the discrimination in Hollywood, but because I needed a black actor to play the part of Thurgood Marshall.

In my view, this is not fairly described as “affirmative action.”

I believe describing it as affirmative action elides this distinction.

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