Reverse Discrimination?

[beowulf 1]

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/29/supreme.court.discrimination/index.html


I personally don't think there is any such thing as "reverse discrimination". It's either racial discrimination or it's not. It doesn't matter if the person is white or not. Why is it that the media doesn't consider it to be racial discrimination if the person is white?

[billvon 2,397]

>I personally don't think there is any such thing as "reverse discrimination".
>It's either racial discrimination or it's not.

Reverse discrimination is a form of racial discrimination; it is not separate from it. It's like referring to a malfunction as a "reserve malfunction." It is a useful term, but it does not mean that it is different from any other malfunction in its basic mechanism.

[Andy9o8 0]

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http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/29/supreme.court.discrimination/index.html

I personally don't think there is any such thing as "reverse discrimination".

It's simply a euphimistic descriptor that's been around for a full generation now. It's a sub-set of "discrimination", generally meaning people not "historically" discriminated against, who suffer discrimination due to affirmative action. Rhetorically it's a bit awkward, but people understand what it means, so it's really not an intellectually dishonest term.

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It's either racial discrimination or it's not. It doesn't matter if the person is white or not.

Agreed.

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Why is it that the media doesn't consider it to be racial discrimination if the person is white?

That may be your perception, but it's not mine. Incidentally, I think it's a myth that there's a single monolith called "the media". That being said, I don't think you're correct even with most of the more "liberal" news media.

[redlegphi 0]

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Why is it that the media doesn't consider it to be racial discrimination if the person is white?

Because more people will read a story about how the evil affirmative action is depriving white folks of their jobs. It's more sensationalistic because it happens less often than "normal" discrimination.

[futuredivot 0]

""Relying so heavily on pencil-and-paper exams to select firefighters is a dubious practice," Ginsburg said, "


Ruthy, can I practice law or sit on the bench? I know that I can't pass the bar but it's pretty dubious to to rely on a pen and paper exam to select attorneys.

You are only as strong as the prey you devour

[redlegphi 0]

She's pointing out that if a test shows a racial disparity (which this one did) then the racial disparity must be due to elements of the test which are directly related to the applicants ability to do the job.

[kelpdiver 2]

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She's pointing out that if a test shows a racial disparity (which this one did) then the racial disparity must be due to elements of the test which are directly related to the applicants ability to do the job.

Err, I believe she implied that the differences were not directly related, but without supporting that claim.

Noting that only 1 in 21 were black may not mean much depending on the makeup of the fire department and community. I believe blacks represent ~10% of the country.

The part of the case that interests me is that rejecting this test doesn't actually result in reverse discrimination. They went on to use some other methodology for promotion and I would think that this would have to be examined for bias. But as typical, the shorter news stories are scant on info.

[TomAiello 25]

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They went on to use some other methodology for promotion and I would think that this would have to be examined for bias.

Do you have a reference for that?

My understanding was that they had frozen all promotions pending the outcome of the litigation.

-- Tom Aiello

[email protected]
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[redlegphi 0]

New Haven is approximately 37% African-American, though that really doesn't matter in this case other than that it made the city a bit more sensitive to racial disparities when hiring or promoting.

[mnealtx 0]

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They went on to use some other methodology for promotion and I would think that this would have to be examined for bias.

Do you have a reference for that?

My understanding was that they had frozen all promotions pending the outcome of the litigation.

That was my understanding as well - since they were afraid that the results of the testing could be construed as a racial bias, they did not do ANY promotions.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[kelpdiver 2]

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They went on to use some other methodology for promotion and I would think that this would have to be examined for bias.

Do you have a reference for that?

My understanding was that they had frozen all promotions pending the outcome of the litigation.

That was my understanding as well - since they were afraid that the results of the testing could be construed as a racial bias, they did not do ANY promotions.

Then it seems even stranger to say there was discrimination in promotion - bias hasn't taken place at all. The fireman are suing to insist on this test being the method to determine who should be promoted.

[mnealtx 0]

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They went on to use some other methodology for promotion and I would think that this would have to be examined for bias.

Do you have a reference for that?

My understanding was that they had frozen all promotions pending the outcome of the litigation.

That was my understanding as well - since they were afraid that the results of the testing could be construed as a racial bias, they did not do ANY promotions.

Then it seems even stranger to say there was discrimination in promotion - bias hasn't taken place at all. The fireman are suing to insist on this test being the method to determine who should be promoted.

I disagree - the promotions were cancelled for FEAR that a discrimination suit would be laid - which did happen, just not the suit that the city feared.

Mike
I love you, Shannon and Jim.
POPS 9708 , SCR 14706

[redlegphi 0]

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They went on to use some other methodology for promotion and I would think that this would have to be examined for bias.

Do you have a reference for that?

My understanding was that they had frozen all promotions pending the outcome of the litigation.

That was my understanding as well - since they were afraid that the results of the testing could be construed as a racial bias, they did not do ANY promotions.

Then it seems even stranger to say there was discrimination in promotion - bias hasn't taken place at all. The fireman are suing to insist on this test being the method to determine who should be promoted.

I disagree - the promotions were cancelled for FEAR that a discrimination suit would be laid - which did happen, just not the suit that the city feared.

Technically, the promotions were never initiated. To be initiated, the test had to be certified. It was not. Also, I'm pretty sure the city knew it'd be sued either way. They just chose the case they thought they had a better shot at winning.