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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Lane3 who wrote (21573)	8/12/2001 5:26:07 PM
From: The Philosopher	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

As for affirmative action in employment, that's a tough one. In the first place, would employers even know if someone is gay? That points up a key distinction -- that between attribute and behavior. Blacks are blacks because of their physical being, not because they do or say or act in any particular way. A black person can act identically to a white person and still be discriminated against just because of the skin color that (Michael Jackson excepted) they can't change. If a gay person applies for a job I have no way, looking at him, to know he's gay. So I can't discriminate based on physical attributes. I don't know until he starts behaving in some way, or saying certain things, that he's gay. If I then discriminate against him, it's not because of his attributes but because of his behavior. If we start protecting people because they choose to act or dress in certain ways, where does affirmative action stop? Why, some may ask, does a gay person have to self-censor their behavior or speech to get a job? Is that fair or right? But the same thing could be asked of a Nazi, who if they wore a swastica on their sleeve and said Heil Hitler when greeting the potential boss would probably not be hired for the job. Or the KKK member who, if they wore their white hood, would probably not get hired. They can't be discriminated against simply because of their beliefs, if they don't display those beliefs in their behaviors. So they choose, act certain ways which conceal their beliefs and get hired, or reveal their beliefs and don't get hired. Same choice all of us make to some degree or another.

To: Lane3 who wrote (21573)	8/12/2001 5:56:22 PM
From: Poet	Respond to of 82486

Hi Karen, I'm afraid I didn't read your earlier posts on your job at the EPA and I'm sorry to make you rehash. You make a lot of sense and I too have trouble imagining even one scenario where gays are discriminated against in terms of public funding, etc. The situation is indeed dissimilar to that of women and ethnic minorities in that sense. What bothers me, though, is half-a-loaf measures, broadly disregarded and unenforced. I'm not much of a fan of current affirmative action policies either, to be honest. I guess an answer to your question which would've been closer to my truth would be: "Let's make damn sure gays are not discriminated against WRT housing, employment, medical care and legal partnership rights. Let's overhaul affirmative action in the process."