[net.women] Another Opinion Re: AA and Discrimination

nap@druxo.UUCP (ParsonsNA) (06/17/85)

Hope I'm not just repeating someone...I've missed a significant number of
the articles on this subject.

One of the goals of AA is to counter *perceived* (inaccurate) differences
in qualifications.

It is unfortunate, but true, that, however much we may try to treat people
as individuals, we invariably bring a whole raft of preconceived notions
(e.g., women are emotional, not rational) with us at a subconscious level
when evaluating the qualifications of people.

This really hit home one day when a black man shared with me the fact that,
when he was doing some recruiting, he had a resume with which he was very
impressed until he heard the man speak (by phone) and realized that he,
too, was black.  Immediately, his estimate of the man dropped and he had
to recognize consciously what had happened and correct his judgment
accordingly.