The Rants of Issachar
Saturday, May 28, 2005
On racialists...
I was talking with someone the other day about job prospects out in Vancouver. She's looking at a couple of jobs and she mentioned offhandedly that I wasn't elible to apply for the job because I'm not a minority nor am I a woman.
Now I wouldn't want the job in question, but that's still wrong. I'm well aware that it is perfectly legal, but that's not what I'm saying. Only a racialist would put a requirement disqualifying whole groups of people because of the colour of their skin. In elementary school I was indoctrinated with the idea that all people of all races were equal and that we should all strive to be "colour blind". That we should judge people on their merits, not on their race. I believed that then and I believe it now.
Sadly that isn't the official line any more. While racism is a particularly loathsome sin in our society, its best friend racialism has been elevated to a virtue. How did we get here?
Think about where all this leads. It's not a good place.
Now I wouldn't want the job in question, but that's still wrong. I'm well aware that it is perfectly legal, but that's not what I'm saying. Only a racialist would put a requirement disqualifying whole groups of people because of the colour of their skin. In elementary school I was indoctrinated with the idea that all people of all races were equal and that we should all strive to be "colour blind". That we should judge people on their merits, not on their race. I believed that then and I believe it now.
Sadly that isn't the official line any more. While racism is a particularly loathsome sin in our society, its best friend racialism has been elevated to a virtue. How did we get here?
Think about where all this leads. It's not a good place.
1 Comments:
Posted by: 
The justifications for affirmative action programs are entirely an ends-justifies-the-means argument. You can't easily guarantee equality of opportunity all of the time, but it's much easier to guarantee equality of outcome.
Having said that, I don't think such programs will be around much longer. A lot has been said about the impending retirement of the baby boom generation, and the fact that many occupations will be facing imminent labour shortages. If that job is still vacant three months down the road, what would the employer do? Or on the other end, if you're a white male who just lost a promotion because you're a white male, what do you do? You quit and move to a better job. Granted, this option is not available to everyone. But I suspect it's going to become easier for people in the early stages of their career to seek out better opportunities if they feel they are being discriminated against. And that applies equally as well to minority groups.
I'm not particularily fond of AA either, but whether it becomes outdated or simply impractical, I don't think it will be around much longer.
CB.
The justifications for affirmative action programs are entirely an ends-justifies-the-means argument. You can't easily guarantee equality of opportunity all of the time, but it's much easier to guarantee equality of outcome.Having said that, I don't think such programs will be around much longer. A lot has been said about the impending retirement of the baby boom generation, and the fact that many occupations will be facing imminent labour shortages. If that job is still vacant three months down the road, what would the employer do? Or on the other end, if you're a white male who just lost a promotion because you're a white male, what do you do? You quit and move to a better job. Granted, this option is not available to everyone. But I suspect it's going to become easier for people in the early stages of their career to seek out better opportunities if they feel they are being discriminated against. And that applies equally as well to minority groups.
I'm not particularily fond of AA either, but whether it becomes outdated or simply impractical, I don't think it will be around much longer.
CB.
