"Affirmative" Action ? ? ?

After having read the articles provided by Prof. G., and reading more on the internet this morning......
This whole Affirmative Action confusion is really starting to get under my skin.  The word "affirmative" means "positive".  Right?  Or, has that definition changed over the years to fit certain situations?  But, if the definition has not changed, WHO WOULDN'T WANT POSITIVE ACTION for the greater good -- except those who are up to no good, or who think that those who benefit from affirmative action will be considered just as good as (if not, better than) those who weren't born on the 'wrong side of the tracks' or with a darker than acceptable skin tone?  Yeah, that's what I thought.  FEAR of the unknown, or being shown up by those who are considered less than [perfect] has been an ever-present cancer in American society.  BRAVO! to those who have societies in which everyone is equal.  Yes, those societies have their faults too, but so do we all.  Everyone has gifts and talents, but not all of us are able to shine in every arena.

The initial response to my application for admission to U.T. was "No".  But, after my appeal, those with the power to say "No" again didn't have a valid enough reason to do so.  So ...... here I am, 2-1/2  years later, with three semesters to go before graduation!  I feel like I was accepted into this university based on who I was on paper (transcript, and essay; not racial/ethnicity affiliation).  Once here, I have to prove myself based on my abilities as a person a -- not to be a 'credit to my race or gender'.  But, being an African American, female, non-traditional student, I bring many experiences to the table that the white male/female, traditionally-aged students may never know personally.  Don't bring out the violins for me nor any other student of color; better still, bring forth applause to everyone who hangs in there through ONE MORE assignment/presentation, ONE MORE test, ONE MORE day, ONE MORE semester until it's time to walk across the stage of achievement.

Please don't ever think that you know a person's entire story solely based on gender, skin color, SES, or any other labels that society sees fit to put on us.  Let's do more getting to know people for whom they really are on the inside (the culture box experience is a good start), and less of the passing of judgment based on what our families, the media, and society as a whole has said is to be taken at face value about an entire group of people.  Yes, racism has been around for a very long time, but ignorance can be stopped on any given day --- one person at a time.  :-)