Affirmative Action!

EXACTLY! A favorite ploy of power-crazy nutjobs and white nationalist. I can't TELL you how many times I hear them say that more "qualified' white men lose jobs to under-qualified blacks because of it...

Hell - I would bet that the whole education system and the need for a degree of some kind just to get a decent job was probably a construct in helping to keep minorities (in addition to the class system already in place) down since way back when, we couldn't AFFORD or even ATTEND college! Nothing for them to worry about then! Now that more minorities are going to school and getting their degrees, all of a sudden you are hearing all of these complaints concerning AA.

It's not because we aren't qualified to do the job for those businesses that practice such discrimination, it's because THEY DON'T WANT OUR BLACK ASSES in their business and they are frustrated by feeling forced to accept us! That's where the issue lies. They don't want any part of us and don't appreciate being made to, only they can't SAY that in public.

 

Did you know the conservatives used words like quotas and set-asides to make some minority students feel bad? I heard McCain is against Affirmative Action which is on the ballot in Arizona started by one of the top house slaves in the country:Ward Connerly.

 

I suppose in theory Affirmative Action is a good way to try and remove racial and sexual bias from potential employers, but I've honestly never had any experience with it personally. I don't know about the cities in West Virginia, but I know that in the Southern WV coalfields there's no such thing as affirmative action. A lot of jobs are strictly male or female, regardless of how hard you try. I had a job at a grocery store in my hometown, and the owner -only- hires women. He has never, and will never, employ a man for any position in his store.

In the same vein, women aren't allowed in the mines. They are hired sparsely as receptionists for mine offices, but women aren't allowed underground. That's for men. It's also the highest paying job one can get in Southern WV without a degree, and, well, they still get paid more than people who bust their asses through 4 years of college for damn near anything.

The only places I've seen that don't discriminate in their hiring practices are fast food restaurants, and even there, as a woman, you are only allowed certain jobs. Women work the windows, take the orders, men cook, and scrub the floors. It was a big thing when I demanded they train me for the other shit while I was working at Wendy's, cause I was so fucking sick of working the window. And where did I work for about 10 months out of the year I worked there? The window.

Race was never really a question in the area, though, because there are only white people there. In my neck of the woods, at least. I can't really speak for all of Southern WV, since there is -some- racial diversity in other towns, but from what I can tell by simply observing in places like Logan, WV (a very segregated place. There's one side of the tracks where the white people live, and the other side is for black people.) they've never grasped the concept of Affirmative Action either.

So I guess I can't really say if I think it's a good idea or not, since honestly I've never seen it implemented. In theory it seems like it could work, but until I see it in practice I can't say.