Re: Is white racism nec. all bad?
Jeanne Kowalewski (jeannek@darkwing.uoregon.edu)
Fri, 14 Apr 1995 01:52:56 -0700
In article <3mkco3$23j@news.informix.com>, hartman@informix.com (Robert
Hartman) wrote:
> In article <3mgkgn$ofv@blarg1.blarg.com>, Donald Edwards
<warrl@blarg.com> wrote:
> :"Runner A and runner B start a race an equal distance from the finish
> :"line. Runner A has a basically clear lane ... Runner B's lane contains
> :"obstacles of varying shapes and sizes laid out at irregular
> :"intervals. He has only been warned about some of them. Affirmatrive
> :"action programs say if runner B finishes the race in his lane >>in
> :"the same time our faster than runner A<<, he should be considered a
> :"more qualified athlete.
> :
> :That's your interpretation.
> :
> :What I see happening is that because runner B was so disadvantaged,
> :the debris will be moved from lane 2 to lane 1 for the race between
> :C and D, and this is supposed to make things fair.
>
> Perhaps. More likely, only a small portion of the debris would get
> moved--the barest minimum needed to establish formal compliance. Then,
> if runner D wins, people will discredit him because runner C had to face
> some unfamiliar debris for the first time.
>
> Would it make the race any fairer if we were to move all of the debris
> back to lane 2, and go back to pretending that there never was any debris?
>
> This seems to me what the "let's end AA right now" campaign is advocating.
>
> If that's not what you're advocating, what _are_ you advocating?
>
> -r
What you're leaving out here is that lane 1 (reserved for women [Runner C]
and people with disabilities [Runner D]) has hurdles every few yards that
are not in lane 2. Runner A has been running around the track in the US
for centuries knowing that he was going to win and, until the Civil Rights
Laws were enacted, the other runners weren't even allowed on the track.
Runner A screams bloody murder because he stubs his toe on a rock in his
lane, "There's never been a rock here before. I need an ambulance!"
If Runner A would for one instant quit obsessing about his toe and observe
what the other runners have had to overcome just to get to the track, then
maybe he would help clear away the debris and hurdles. Maybe he would
realize that the sport is enriched by the additional runners, or maybe he
would just stop whining.
Jeanne K.
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