response 139 of 217:

Feb 5 19:12 UTC 2003

Those opposed to affirmative action have fixated on that argument, that
aid to one group is deprivation of another. That, of course, completely
contradicts ALL the social work of all the churches and other agencies
in the country. There is no way you can have, for example, faith-based
social work in poor communities without depriving other groups of equal
funds. The argument is a "red herring".

I agree that I have used the term "racial discrimination" in two senses. 
I think it would be a good idea to restrict it to its classic meaning,
that being *depriving* individuals of civil rights based on their race.
*Giving* people benefits on the basis of their race is not the same thing,
since others still retain their civil rights, and such social work has
been generally approved. Even the right-wing approves it in the form of
"faith based" initiatives, which will benefit primarily
discriminated-against minorities (except that it is unconstitutional
because of its federal support of religous purposes).