Opinion: Sen. Jim Webb Uses His Privilege to Play Racial Politics

Opinion: Sen. Jim Webb Uses His Privilege to Play Racial Politics

Here is a reply to Webb's oped by Michael Arceneaux. His reply to Webb's argument that to the extent that affirmative action is justified by the need to compensate for past injustices suffered at the hands of white America is American imperialsim:

Webb says that immigrants from Asia, Africa and Latin America "did not suffer from discrimination from our government" the way black Americans did, but they nevertheless benefit from programs intended to rectify it. He doesn't address the prospect that American imperialism affected people of color in various parts of the world.

This seems a bit thin. American imperialism would seem to be a reasonable argument for American Indians, Philippines Islanders and perhaps even some Hispanics, but what could it possibly have to do with East Asians or South Asians?