Reverse Reverse Discrimination

Many conservatives complain that, because of Affirmative Action, African Americans may beat out better qualified white people for certain jobs. The argument goes on to say that even qualified African Americans suffer from Affirmative Action, because white people, apparently not equipped with the powers of logic, will thereby assume that every African American with a job must be unqualified, so they will show equal disrespect toward them all. This objection fails to consider another way in which affirmative action may have a negative effect on qualified African Americans: acting jobs.

On the last episode of the very clever television show Wonderfalls, there is a young African American shoplifter (around the age of 12). On the audio commentary, the producers revealed that they had thought the kid did an excellent job at his audition, but they didn't want to give him the part because it would just seem stereotypical and racist: "Who's the kind of guy who'd be a shoplifter? I know, someone black!" Eventually, the producers grudgingly decided that, since he really was the most talented reader, they might as well give him the part, even though he's African American.

So to all you white people out there: why not stop complaining about Affirmative Action, and use it to your advantage? There may be hundreds of talented African American actors who will be turned down for criminal acting roles that you, as an untalented white person, can still play. Even though the producers of Wonderfalls eventually capitulated to merit, there may be many producers out there who won't do so. There is a veritable fecund harvest of criminal acting jobs out there, just for you, because you are white. Just don't be upset if everybody assumes you must be a bad actor simply because of the color of your skin.