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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!geoff
From: geoff@burl.UUCP (geoff)
Newsgroups: net.politics,net.social,net.women,net.flame
Subject: Re: Discrimination and Affirmative Action
Message-ID: <742@burl.UUCP>
Date: Tue, 11-Jun-85 18:08:01 EDT
Article-I.D.: burl.742
Posted: Tue Jun 11 18:08:01 1985
Date-Received: Wed, 12-Jun-85 02:52:02 EDT
References: <566@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP> <478@hou2g.UUCP> <569@mtung.UUCP>
Reply-To: geoff@burl.UUCP (geoff)
Organization: AT&T Technologies, Burlington NC
Lines: 42
Xref: watmath net.politics:9362 net.social:647 net.women:5721 net.flame:10457
Summary: 

In article <569@mtung.UUCP> jdh@mtung.UUCP (Julia Harper) writes:
>()
>Please note:
>
>1. EQUAL OPPORTUNITY = a fair shot.
>
>2.  AFFIRMITIVE ACTION exists to counteract the LACK
>OF EQUAL OPPORTUNITY.  There is no way to force unfair 
>employers to practice EQUAL OPPORTUNITY.  AFFIRMITIVE 
>ACTION puts a quota on the employer to force at least
>some semblance of EQUAL OPPORTUNITY.  
>

I have a real ambivalent feeling here.  I can understand and sympathize
with people who are discriminated against.  It must be a real bitch to
be told 'I won't hire you because you are black/white/male/female/long hair/
or-what-have-you'.  I wish there were no discrimination in the world.  There
is, and my desires won't change it.

Opposing view:  I oppose government interference in my life.  If I were to
own a company, I would oppose interference in that.  Telling me that I have
to hire people I don't want to hire (for whatever reason, no matter how
stupid) is a pretty major infringement of MY rights because I have to
PAY people I don't want to. (I can feel the flames now).
Why does someone have a right to a job they want?  After all, that right is
a claim on the furnisher of that job, and that seems an infringement of his
or her rights.

Government has some legitimate uses -- some safety regulations are surely
in order, protecting people against fraud, violence, defense and so forth.
I also think the government does a pretty lousy job of everything (including
those above).  It gets its fingers (tentacles) into everything, and then
when it screws things up, it uses this as an excuse to get into more.

In summary, I oppose both government interference -- and discrimination.
Hence the ambivalence.

>-- 
>Julia Harper
>[ihnp4,ariel]!mtung!jdh

	geoff sherwood