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Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: TimF who wrote (149313)	8/9/2002 12:23:20 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1579830

Ted it doesn't even the playing field. It gives an unfair advantage to some people of a particular skin color supposedly to make up for the fact that other people of that skin color have or had unfair disadvantages. Giving Mr Jones who happens to be black a preference for a particular job, doesn't make things any more fair for Mr Smith who is also black and didn't get a job 20 years ago because he is black. It not only is not necessary, its counterproductive to the idea of eliminating unjust discrimination and racial bigotry. Tim, forgetting about race and gender for a moment, if you read any of the studies on how getting employed in this country works, and the degree of bias that comes into play when it comes to just looks, height, and weight say among whites, I think you would realize the need for affirmative action. In these studies, they have shown that characteristics like height, weight, looks, quality of clothes etc play an important role not only on whether you get hired but also the amount of salary you will make. For an example, taller people on average get a higher salary then those who are shorter. The same is true for better looking people, thinner people etc. If this is the kind of stuff that goes on among whites, then you can imagine how race and gender are treated. I told you about the Latino contractor......he's the norm, not the exception. IMO affirmative action is needed to counter balance the existing biases in this culture. In the early ninties, a demographic study showed that Asians, I think in either LA County or the state of CA, were on average considerably better educated than whites but their average salaries were considerably below those same whites. Over and over, this kind of bias is show in our population statistics. Its too bad but it's the reality. That's not to say that things aren't changing.......a friend in investment banking has moved quickly up the corporate ladder and at 31 is making $250k. He is black and latino but he also is very bright and incredibly competent. As kids of varying cultures grow up together more and more, I believe they will be more apt to hire each other without concern re race, and people of color like my friend will be more the norm rather than the exception. As more women are seen in prominent positions, the shattering of the glass ceiling will become a reality........but all this stuff will take time. ted