tims@mako.UUCP (Tim Stoehr) (06/28/84)
I have before me today a sports extra section from the 'The Oregonian' newspaper. In it are listed the results of the 'Cascade Run Off', which is an international 15 kilometer race of some import, held in Portland. Some 6,526 men and women participated. What caught my attention the following. The first woman finisher, Sylvia Ruegger, came in 97th, a full 6 minutes and eleven seconds behind the first male finisher, Simeon Kigen. Now, they both win $10,000 for this. Ruegger came in more than 6 minutes back and gets the same reward as Kigen. Also, 87 men came in ahead of Ruegger and win absolutely nothing. Some questions come to mind. Is this fair? Is it ingratiating to women? Is it a statement of inferior physical capabilities of women? How would you feel if you were in the race, and someone finished 5 minutes behind you, and that person won $10,000 and you got nothing but sore feet? Can you believe this is all right, and at the same time, believe in equal pay for equal performance regardless of sex without being hypocritical?