5 ms·

I think I'd settle for having a proportionate amount of the conversation being about discrimination against white men. So, perhaps, for every thousand comments

I think I'd settle for having a proportionate amount of the conversation being about discrimination against white men. So, perhaps, for every thousand comments about discrimination against other groups, we could include a word or two. I am a white man - I have never to my knowledge been meaningfully discriminated against. I think only a fool would suggest that if I was black, or a woman, I could say that - or even say that for a more limited time period.

oceanghost 9y ago
In the most ironic statement possible... as a white man, I once was told, "We're only hiring women and niggers."
- wutbrodo 9y ago
  Did this actually happen to you? Out of curiosity, in what time period and industry? I only ask because I imagine that even the most racist HR person in the world would know to show more discretion.
  - oceanghost 9y ago
    Yes, in the early 90s (I'm old), and it was the local AT&T office. I've also been "discriminated" against for not being Native American (Casino Morongo in So Cal), and not being an Evangelical Christian (Cal Baptist University). As it turns out-- those institutions are legally allowed to discriminate. It absolutely blew my mind being asked to "describe my relationship with jesus" in an interview.
    - danieltillett 9y ago
      I hope you said first name basis :)
      - oceanghost 9y ago
        Oh, it was awful. I was perhaps, 26, hardcore atheist. No mention was made of any of what was to come when I accepted the interview. There was a technical interview with a very nice guy, who said I scored the highest of any candidate who had ever interviewed for the university. Then, this sallow cow of a woman with a permanent look of disgust on her face conducted my "religious" interview on subjects like evolution, the Trinity, and my relationship with Jesus. I tried my best to be "reasonable," but I'm sure I looked like a deer in headlights. It's impossible to be reasonable with unreasonable people such as evangelicals. My position on spirituality has softened quite a bit as I've gotten older and had a few "spiritual experiences"... but sometimes I wonder if, in the intervening years, if it has occurred to them that beliving in provably false things like creationism, (remember, evangelicals won't even accept that "evolution is gods mechanism of creation"), doesn't make for a good engineer.
  - friedButter 9y ago
    > I imagine that even the most racist HR person in the world would know to show more discretion Only cause you mentioned "world", its pretty common for only women, or even women who have taken breaks to raise a child to be eligible for many jobs in India, including at companies considered "Big4" like Microsoft. There is also a suspension of the right to equality in favour of certain castes, and 50-70% of govt jobs and govt college seats can only be occupied by people from these castes.
    - wutbrodo 9y ago
      No, I didn't mean more discreet than to say that they were discriminating by gender or race; I've worked at a big 4 company in the Bay and they barely even managed to maintain plausible deniability about racism and sexism in their hiring policies. I was just referring to directly using the word "nigger" in that context.

oceanghost 9y ago

In the most ironic statement possible... as a white man, I once was told, "We're only hiring women and niggers."

wutbrodo 9y ago
Did this actually happen to you? Out of curiosity, in what time period and industry? I only ask because I imagine that even the most racist HR person in the world would know to show more discretion.
- oceanghost 9y ago
  Yes, in the early 90s (I'm old), and it was the local AT&T office. I've also been "discriminated" against for not being Native American (Casino Morongo in So Cal), and not being an Evangelical Christian (Cal Baptist University). As it turns out-- those institutions are legally allowed to discriminate. It absolutely blew my mind being asked to "describe my relationship with jesus" in an interview.
  - danieltillett 9y ago
    I hope you said first name basis :)
    - oceanghost 9y ago
      Oh, it was awful. I was perhaps, 26, hardcore atheist. No mention was made of any of what was to come when I accepted the interview. There was a technical interview with a very nice guy, who said I scored the highest of any candidate who had ever interviewed for the university. Then, this sallow cow of a woman with a permanent look of disgust on her face conducted my "religious" interview on subjects like evolution, the Trinity, and my relationship with Jesus. I tried my best to be "reasonable," but I'm sure I looked like a deer in headlights. It's impossible to be reasonable with unreasonable people such as evangelicals. My position on spirituality has softened quite a bit as I've gotten older and had a few "spiritual experiences"... but sometimes I wonder if, in the intervening years, if it has occurred to them that beliving in provably false things like creationism, (remember, evangelicals won't even accept that "evolution is gods mechanism of creation"), doesn't make for a good engineer.
- friedButter 9y ago
  > I imagine that even the most racist HR person in the world would know to show more discretion Only cause you mentioned "world", its pretty common for only women, or even women who have taken breaks to raise a child to be eligible for many jobs in India, including at companies considered "Big4" like Microsoft. There is also a suspension of the right to equality in favour of certain castes, and 50-70% of govt jobs and govt college seats can only be occupied by people from these castes.
  - wutbrodo 9y ago
    No, I didn't mean more discreet than to say that they were discriminating by gender or race; I've worked at a big 4 company in the Bay and they barely even managed to maintain plausible deniability about racism and sexism in their hiring policies. I was just referring to directly using the word "nigger" in that context.