Newsgroups: ut.general
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!ois.db.toronto.edu!vassos
From: vassos@db.toronto.edu (Vassos Hadzilacos)
Subject: Re: "Joining the count"
Message-ID: <89Mar30.165735est.8725@ois.db.toronto.edu>
Keywords: Are you a visible minority?
Organization: University of Toronto, CSRI
References: <8903232049.AA29714@yorkmills.csri.toronto.edu> <89Mar30.123150est.8725@ois.db.toronto.edu> <8903301755.AA07836@russell.csri.toronto.edu>
Distribution: ut
Date: Thu, 30 Mar 89 16:57:30 EST

In article <8903301755.AA07836@russell.csri.toronto.edu> clarke@csri.toronto.edu (Jim Clarke) writes:

>But the question being asked [which "racial" group do you identify
>yourself as a member of -- VH] is meaningless.  Asking people to classify
>themselves into racial groups in order to serve beneficial social purposes
>is not more defensible intellectually than classifying them by decree in
>order to serve evil purposes.  If a question is meaningless, you shouldn't
>ask it, much less take action on the basis of any answers.

People of colour, native Americans and other groups of people generally
referred to as "visible minorities" in this country have been and are the
subject of discrimination.  Though "racial" classification is both morally
objectionable and scientifically questionable, society is not oblivious to
it.

In effect the survey is asking: "Are you a member of a group that is
disadvantaged because of social prejudices?" This, unfortunately, is not
a meaningless question. I refuse to answer this question when I feel that
doing so will serve evil purposes but I  will gladly answer it when I feel
that doing so will serve beneficial social purposes. The distinction
between the two cases appears perfectly intellectually defensible to me.
-- 
Vassos Hadzilacos
vassos@csri.toronto.edu