Of course, racism, sexism, homophobia etc. are still problems in many environments. In my own city some black folks are prejudiced against mixed race marriages, which are very common here. My mixed race married neighbors told me that and I was shocked, as I thought it was only a small percentage of white people who still felt that way.
Why did you think that it only white people who felt that way? Do you really believe that only whites can be racist?
Racism is everywhere. It not just whites against non-whites. It a 2-way street.
It's one skin tone vs. another skin tone everywhere.
No, I don't think that only white people can be racist, but I've known so many mixed race couples in my area and if anyone objected, it was always someone white. In fact, the white mother of my neighbor was the only one who had a fit when her daughter told her she was marrying a black man. His family had no problems with their marriage. Considering how common mixed race relationships are where I live, I didn't expect such a reaction coming from anyone who lived here.
In the Northeast, there is far more racial segregation compared to the South these days, and I can understand the dislike of white people coming from some black people there, due to the extreme segregation in most of the Northeast. It's just not as common in my small racially diverse city, so it was surprising to learn that my neighbors, who are very dear people, were treated unkindly, regardless of the skin color of the others who seemed to have a problem with mixed race relationships.
When I was still working, many of my younger coworkers were in mixed race relationships and I don't recall a single negative comment from the other workers. In fact, some of the older workers and even a few of the residents had mixed race grandkids, so yes, it was a bit surprising to learn that my neighbors were treated with bigotry regarding their marriage. Sure, we still have some white racists here, but they are usually openly racist. Sure, there are likely some black racists here in town, but mixed races couples are so common here, that I didn't expect to hear how my neighbors had been treated by some black folks. Since in most cases, it's a white woman with a black partner, maybe some of the black women feel like the white women are taking potential partners from them. Who knows? I have known two couples where the black partner was female and the guy was white. Still, I thought we had moved past that here. I know another mixed race couple that we've been friends with for many years and they have never told me that anyone has treated them unkindly due to being in a mixed race marriage. The white parents were upset at first, but they got over it in time.
And then there is ageism, the last acceptable form of bigotry. But, in the case of Arday, it sounds more like incompetence from Cambridge that was responsible for this tragedy. They could have simply told Arday that he needed more experience and they could have also checked out his crazy claims regarding his childhood.
I wonder though if Cambridge had checked the claims of his childhood whether they would have been accused of racism?
Damned if they do, damned if they don't.
I think any strange claims from an applicant for such a position should be investigated, regardless of the ethnicity of the applicant. When someone with a doctorate degree claims he couldn't speak until age 11 etc. that needs to be investigated because it doesn't make sense. The man made many strange claims that should have been verified. Cambridge had other more qualified applicants who were also minorities and/or women. If they wanted a more diverse staff, they could have given them more consideration. Personally, I think we've exhausted the discussion of why Arday was hired, which eventually lead to his suicide. The man obviously suffered from some mental health problems for a long time.
