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

To: cosmicforce who wrote (31960)	10/11/2001 2:39:08 PM
From: Neocon	Respond to of 82486

Bogus numbers lead to bogus social policy. There are ways to measure discrimination in hiring practices, for example, through test applicants with virtually the same resumes, but different skin color, that would do more for social research than focusing on statistical disparity. Sure, there is racism. There are also any number of legitimate reasons for not hiring someone that could be misattributed to racism (like a lack of punctuality for the interview), or any number of attributes that might cause discrimination, but are not protected. For example, someone might pick a more attractive candidate over a less attractive candidate, or one with whom the interviewer felt greater personal rapport over a candidate with a more formal manner. The question is, is the degree of residual racism sufficient for us to invest a large amount of resources in its eradication, or would it be better to concentrate resources on those from a deprived background, whatever their skin color or surname?

To: cosmicforce who wrote (31960)	10/11/2001 3:45:28 PM
From: J. C. Dithers	Respond to of 82486

I think someone would have to have their head in the sand (or some other location) to say that there is no social inequality and that given identical starting points and ability, race simply plays no role. Sorry, Cosmic, but I think it is you that has his head in the sand. The most enviable position in our economy today would be to be a black person with a degree from an Ivy League college looking for job in the private sector or government (to be female would add a bonus). Firms today virtually kill to be able to hire qualified minorities, especially in high-status positions such as engineering and finance. As to government, up to September 11th, at least, you could not be hired as an F.B.I. special agent as a white male ... there was a virtual freeze on whites, as I know from an agent in my family. Oh, by the way, how did that black get the Ivy league degree? Perhaps by virtue of racially-based admission quotas, but if not, because college and universities also virtually fall all over one another to recruit minorities with acceptable transcripts. How did the black get the acceptable transcript from high school? Well, you can fill that in. You apparently are not aware of the complaints of white men wanting to be local policeman or firemen that it is they who are being discriminated against in favor of minorities? That these complaints are documented by the higher test scores of the whites? That the same occurs in promotion policies in these municipal departments? That many state courts have upheld these preferential employment practices? You seem have missed a lot of what is occurring around you, or you are closing your eyes so as to not have to yield on your accusations of racism. It is true that saying that "race plays no role" is inaccurate. Race does play a role. It's just that you have your players mixed-up. Edit P.S. --- There is a tenured professor at Harvard who has stated publicly that grade inflation (making a B- effectively the lowest grade possible) had its origins in the admission of large numbers of black students. This professor gives his students two grades: the politically-correct one (official), and the right one (usually lower).