That's because it was never about helping "level the playing field" - thats just the message they placated the public with. Rather this is a patronage network; a way of giving gifts to client groups of the power structure.
You do realize that, for example, a husband could legally rape his wife in any US state until the 1970s? This wouldn’t be illegal in every state until 1993!
Let me reiterate that: there were people in the United States of America who did not have any legal protection from rape until 1993.
Subjugation of women (and of minority groups) is not some mythical injustice and it’s not even a distant injustice.
We’re talking about thousands of years subjugation and vast amounts of progress being made in the last 50-100 years. It’s insane to refer to this as “never” been about fixing real problems.
No disagreement with the rest though.
Now that you mention it, though, my problem is with the word subjugation, which isn't an accurate descriptor of what was happening 200,000 years ago when we were living in small bands in the woods, starving, being hunted by animals stronger than us.
But hey, I suppose you never know.
Edited to be sure not to distract from the actual thrust of the argument :)
I mean, who measures at which point "women and minority groups" are not subjugated anymore? Is there any incentive for this moment ever coming to pass?
By the way, I'm not even against whatever progress was made. I do question whether the progress created actual improvement, but in truth I do not really care.
Feel free to argue that affirmative action was a mistake or is complete or has overshot its goal, or that it’s used as a tool of corruption in some instances, but you are simply incorrect when you suggest that these reforms originated out of some spontaneous ambush on reformers’ “enemies.”