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From: gwyn@brl-smoke.ARPA (Doug Gwyn )
Newsgroups: net.women,net.sci
Subject: Re: Why are there so few [female|black] physicists?
Message-ID: <2240@brl-smoke.ARPA>
Date: Tue, 15-Jul-86 02:38:40 EDT
Article-I.D.: brl-smok.2240
Posted: Tue Jul 15 02:38:40 1986
Date-Received: Wed, 16-Jul-86 02:55:17 EDT
References: <1970@brl-smoke.ARPA> <320@rtech.UUCP> <2064@brl-smoke.ARPA> <14838@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Organization: Ballistic Research Lab (BRL), APG, MD.
Lines: 21
Xref: watmath net.women:11316 net.sci:1247

In article <14838@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>, weemba@brahms.BERKELEY.EDU (Wimpy Math Grad Student) writes:
> ... there is no basis for even
> choosing among the middle by *any* objective "fair" means.  So what's wrong
> with being generous to minorities in the process?  ...

Discriminating FOR someone on the basis of such an inessential is
wrong for precisely the same reasons as discriminating AGAINST the
person on the same basis.  It does not do justice to the person as
an individual, but places importance on something over which the
individual had no control.  That's a disservice and an insult to
the person's values.  The wider context of this error I have
discussed in other postings.

I am sure that there are many relevant "tie-breaker" criteria that
could be used to disambiguate such a situation.  The LAST thing
that would be advisable would be to stoop to employment of the same
kind of thinking that brought on the evils you're trying to combat.
How can you actually expect to establish good ends with evil means?
That error of thought was rather thoroughly demolished 43 years ago
in the form of the character Gail Wynand in "The Fountainhead",
which you should read if you need it explained to you.