Real life example: Was I racially discriminated against?

[laughing dog]

I think some consistency is in order. Were this a board consisting thus far of three black women, and they then insisted that regardless of anything else the last spot must be filled by a white male, i dont think we would see all this hand waving and excuse making. It would be rightly called race discrimination.

I think that any honest reader with minimal reading comprehension skills would realize the driving issue is the reason for the choice, not the actual choice. In your hypothetical case, if the reason was that black people are odious, then it is racial discrimination. If the reason is that the board needs some diversity for some reason, then no.

 

[Metaphor]

I think some consistency is in order. Were this a board consisting thus far of three black women, and they then insisted that regardless of anything else the last spot must be filled by a white male, i dont think we would see all this hand waving and excuse making. It would be rightly called race discrimination.

I think that any honest reader with minimal reading comprehension skills would realize the driving issue is the reason for the choice, not the actual choice. In your hypothetical case, if the reason was that black people are odious, then it is racial discrimination. If the reason is that the board needs some diversity for some reason, then no.

That may be a reason to call it 'justified racial discrimination' versus 'unjustified racial discrimination' but it's still discriminating by race if you're discriminating by race, no matter what your motives.

There are times when it's justified to discriminate by race (and gender, and other immutable characteristics). But I do not find 'diversity' to be a justifiable reason.

 

[prideandfall]

There are times when it's justified to discriminate by race (and gender, and other immutable characteristics). But I do not find 'diversity' to be a justifiable reason.

well then it's a shame the entire planet doesn't operate solely based on your personal views on things, or else we'd have this whole thing sorted out by now.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

I think that any honest reader with minimal reading comprehension skills would realize the driving issue is the reason for the choice, not the actual choice. In your hypothetical case, if the reason was that black people are odious, then it is racial discrimination. If the reason is that the board needs some diversity for some reason, then no.

That may be a reason to call it 'justified racial discrimination' versus 'unjustified racial discrimination' but it's still discriminating by race if you're discriminating by race, no matter what your motives.

There are times when it's justified to discriminate by race (and gender, and other immutable characteristics). But I do not find 'diversity' to be a justifiable reason.

While I would agree that doing it to make a board more diverse is discrimination (and I agree with you that it's unjustified), I don't think all race-based decisions are discrimination. Sometimes appearance is part of the job. The law recognizes this with regard to actors (where appearance is a big part of their job), I think it should recognize it even when it's secondary to their job (for example, ethnic restaurants) but the law disagrees with me on that.

 

[Metaphor]

There are times when it's justified to discriminate by race (and gender, and other immutable characteristics). But I do not find 'diversity' to be a justifiable reason.

well then it's a shame the entire planet doesn't operate solely based on your personal views on things, or else we'd have this whole thing sorted out by now.

It is a shame, actually. Everything would be better if people just did as I advised.

Among the things I advise:

Don't murder people for drawings, or anything else, for that matter.
Stop bullying gay kids.
Don't discriminate for arbitrary reasons by race.

- - - Updated - - -

That may be a reason to call it 'justified racial discrimination' versus 'unjustified racial discrimination' but it's still discriminating by race if you're discriminating by race, no matter what your motives.

There are times when it's justified to discriminate by race (and gender, and other immutable characteristics). But I do not find 'diversity' to be a justifiable reason.

While I would agree that doing it to make a board more diverse is discrimination (and I agree with you that it's unjustified), I don't think all race-based decisions are discrimination. Sometimes appearance is part of the job. The law recognizes this with regard to actors (where appearance is a big part of their job), I think it should recognize it even when it's secondary to their job (for example, ethnic restaurants) but the law disagrees with me on that.

They're still discriminating by race. People can't get over the fact that 'discriminating by race' has negative connotations, so they have to call what they consider justified discrimination by race something else.

 

[Axulus]

They're still discriminating by race. People can't get over the fact that 'discriminating by race' has negative connotations, so they have to call what they consider justified discrimination by race something else.

I think this sums up a good portion of the thread quite well. However, I will admit that those who have argued that racial discrimination for the purposes of diversity is not a moral bad but a moral good have been intriguing and relatively honest compared to those who try to argue that the scenario has nothing to do with racial discrimination. I kinda, sorta understand the mindset about wanting diversity and can not categorically say they are wrong minded in preferring more diversity.

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

They're still discriminating by race. People can't get over the fact that 'discriminating by race' has negative connotations, so they have to call what they consider justified discrimination by race something else.

I think this sums up a good portion of the thread quite well. However, I will admit that those who have argued that racial discrimination for the purposes of diversity is not a moral bad but a moral good have been intriguing and relatively honest compared to those who try to argue that the scenario has nothing to do with racial discrimination. I kinda, sorta understand the mindset about wanting diversity and can not categorically say they are wrong minded in preferring more diversity.

I agree. I find it more disturbing when people try to pretend this isn't racial discrimination, when it clearly is, instead of trying to say it is no big deal... which I would agree it isn't given the circumstances here.