dmcanzi@watdcsu.UUCP (David Canzi) (02/21/85)
In article <776@utcsri.UUCP> west@utcsri.UUCP (Thomas L. West) writes: > Would you claim that affirmative action programs raise the total load of >injustices? Somehow I don't think so. They are merely remedying a situation >caused by years of injustice. They are unjust to the groups not being >selected for affirmative action, but I claim that the injustices that they >correct are far greater than the ones they cause. Thus I don't believe your >point is valid. Hey, whoa! Hold on thar! I've just double-checked and found out that affirmative action was not mentioned in any of the ancestor articles to this one. Where's the hat you pulled this out of Tom? In my article that started this subargument I mentioned two injustices: 1) The denial of the presumption of innocence to men accused of rape 2) The general pro-female bias of child custody settlements However, in recognition of the fact that you apparently want to talk about something else instead, I've changed the subject line on this article, and removed some material that is now irrelevant. Onward through the fog... > What have you done to help? > Also remember that you are currently enjoying the benefits of the injustices >that occur today! Your (medical insurance) bill is lower because nurses >are still being badly underpaid. (And that's not supply and demand as has been >pointed out, there is a shortage of nurses. It's because it is traditionally >a women's job.) You are free to ignore injustices when you are no longer >benefitting from them. Until then, you *are* guilty if you aren't willing >to at least try to help. So, assuming that the low wages paid to nurses are a result of sexual discrimination, (discrimination is probably a contributing factor) what can I do about it? There's nothing I can do about the exploitation of nurses, other than staying healthy so I spend as little of my own time as possible exploiting them. There's nothing I can do directly about discrimination in hiring, as I am not in a position to influence hiring decisions. The only thing I can do is to speak in favour of fair hiring practises. I can't honestly either endorse or oppose affirmative action, without knowing what it is supposed to be. Is it supposed to be a system of percentage quotas on an employer's total set of employees, or on those hired after some specific date? How are the correct percentages determined? How can affirmative action even be reasonably defined for small employers, where the arithmetic of percentages applied to a small number of employees can result in the employer being forced to hire a woman regardless of qualifications? I don't know exactly *what* affirmative action is, but my questions indicate what I fear it *might* be. -- David Canzi