Re: Is white racism nec. all bad?

Gary Strand (gary@ra.cgd.ucar.edu)
3 Apr 1995 13:20:23 GMT

ss> Scott Sellers

ss> I think it is important, however, to distinguish between the discrimination
of today's affirmative action and the historically demonstrated societal
discrimination against women and minorities in this country.
Simply, societal discrimination was exclusionary. Minorities and women
were flat out excluded from many economic and social spheres.
Affirmative action attempts to address this historical (and continuing)
exclusion with discrimination meant to include minorities and women in
proportion to their percentage within the population.

Via *exclusion* of non-women non-minorities, correct? And you imply quotas
and percentages here, which AA proponents usually try to avoid.

ss> Total exclusion vs. fair inclusion. A world of difference.

"Total exclusion"? Not quite "total", as in 100%. And "fair" to whom? Get-
ting even for past actions by (mostly) now-dead people via totally innocent
individuals doesn't strike me as reasonable.

Instead of "world of difference", sounds to me like (old bad discrimination):
"You're in Group A, we like you so here's a job; you're in group B, we don't
like you, so tough" and (good now discrimination) "You're in Group A, we
like you so here's a job; you're in group B, we don't like you, so tough".

--
Gary Strand WWW: http://www.cgd.ucar.edu/cscor/gary/gary.html
strandwg@ncar.ucar.edu PO Box 3000 Boulder CO 80307-3000 (303) 497-1336
Opinions stated here are mine alone and are not those of NCAR, UCAR, or the NSF