Quote:
Originally Posted by jgray
I live in a mostly Hispanic part of the US. Affirmative Action and other methods of "preference" are still used to discriminate against Anglo males, who are in the minority here. I have experienced it first hand, many times. Any and all forms of preference, based on race, age, etc. should go away. We no longer need them.
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With due respect for your position, jgray, I wouldn't say the laws are no longer needed... I'd say they need to be
upgraded, mainly to downgrade the importance of racial motivations to guide hiring, and your situation is probably a clear example of that.
It's also true that the law as it stands takes a more national view... local situations are often significantly different, for instance in a predominantly African region of the country, often making the law ineffective or even nonsensical. This can be what gives many people the impression that the law "intentionally discriminates" against Anglo males, when in many cases it is simply leveling the playing field for all job applicants, and is not intentionally excluding anyone. On a level playing field with a population of 80% African and 20% European, you'd expect to see roughly that proportion of African and European hires. (This is not to say that your personal statements are unfounded, jgray, as I clearly don't know your personal situation.) As well as bringing the law up-to-date in terms of intention, it could be rewritten to be made more directly applicable to local and regional situations and realities, providing a more "fair" application at the local level.
Of course, to anyone who loses out on a job to "the other guy," and especially if they are a different nationality, race, gender, etc, the laws always seem "unfair." But they can be made better, so as to remove as much "unfairness" as possible.
And don't forget: Despite the existence of such affirmative action "quotas," the laws do not support hiring people who are
not qualified to do a job, just to satisfy a racial quota. That kind of thing has been challenged and upheld in court, so most employers take care to make sure the people they hire are qualified for that position.