Discrimination is wrong, we can all agree. But we’ve done so many backflips in the name of equality that it has gotten a little skewed. I work for the federal government. We have a very agressive affirmative action policy in my agency, the US Forest Service, b/c it has traditionally been dominated by white males.
However, it has become increasingly difficult to be hired as a professional (forester, biologist, achaeologist, botonist, etc.) if you are a white male, no matter your qualifications. I have personally been on hiring teams where we have simply tossed to the wayside several qualified applicants in the name of hiring a minority or female. It’s depressing. As long as a minority or female candidate appears to meet the minimal standards we need for a job, pretty much have to rank them in our top 5. About the only way a white male can come out on top is either if they are a veteran (vets get very preferential treatment) or if there are no qualified minority or female candidates.
Diversity is important. It has done a lot of good and given a lot of great people a chance at advancement. But it has been dictated in such a heavy-handed fashion that it has left a lot of resentment in white employees. It also has led to frustration as many of our white emplyees are extremely hesitant to correct or discipline minority employees in fear that a greivence will be filed accusing them of discrimination. It’s a sad state and I pray it gets better. I don’t think we should be responsible for all the other failings of govt and society that have left minorities at a distict disadvantage in many cases. But there’s got to be a better way. I fear we will never be a truly colorblind society as long as we are forced to acknowledge our differences.
My supervisor (district ranger) is a black male (who loves Bill O’Reilly!) and my supervisor’s supervisor (forest supervisor) is a black female. It’s something I am sure the Civil Rights generation never thought it would see. It’s something I never thought I would see growing up in a small town in the rural South. They are certainly doing their respective jobs very well considering the biases they had to overcome. My ranger has gone to the mat for me and my resource area several times. I certainly have no problems with him be he black, blue, green or gray.
However, his generation seems to have a keen sense of where they came from. I fear that the younger minority employees we are hiring haven’t got that. Many of them don’t seem to care how they got there and don’t seem to grasp the accomodation that has been made. It’s depressing, but perhaps it’s a sign of sucessful integration into society as a whole that they don’t feel the need to prove themselves. But every time they do falter, it only provides more resentment of the process that got them there. Sadly, yes, discrimination does exist still, but I fear the current method of A A needs some work.