4 ms·

There are currently two competing narratives about what is racist: On one side, it's considered racist to make decisions based on race. On the other side, it's

There are currently two competing narratives about what is racist: On one side, it's considered racist to make decisions based on race. On the other side, it's considered racist to make decisions without considering race, and the history of power and oppression that comes with it. One side sees a productive way to move forward by not repeating the mistakes of the past. The other side sees a way to make the future better by correcting the mistakes of the past. It's one of the most difficult we face as both as a society and as individuals: often in literature a character will be driven to avenge a past injustice and at the height of narrative arc, will be forced to consider his motivations and the consequences of his goal. The YA novel A Long Way Down and the movie Blue Ruin both explore this concept poignantly, without ever giving us easy or generalizable answers. Because racial politics can be so mentally poisoning, a far more neutral thought experiment is to consider a fund reserved exclusively for funding military veterans. That's a kind of situation where almost everyone can see both sides to the issue: how can you deny their contribution and sacrifices? And yet how can you fail to see the unintended but inevitable consequences that creates?

grosjona 8y ago
I understand the intent of this fund but I think that it's both racist and sexist. Why doesn't someone create a VC fund for people with disabilities instead? Or maybe a fund for ugly people? Or a fund for socially awkward people? Or a fund for people who have a lisp? Or a fund for people who have bad posture? Or simply a fund for the underprivileged? Those would be a lot more fair. Life isn't fair to everyone. Some people just have to work much harder than others to get the same results. There is nothing that can be done about this. Trying to do something about this equates to discrimination based on arbitrary superficial features.

grosjona 8y ago

I understand the intent of this fund but I think that it's both racist and sexist. Why doesn't someone create a VC fund for people with disabilities instead? Or maybe a fund for ugly people? Or a fund for socially awkward people? Or a fund for people who have a lisp? Or a fund for people who have bad posture? Or simply a fund for the underprivileged? Those would be a lot more fair. Life isn't fair to everyone. Some people just have to work much harder than others to get the same results. There is nothing that can be done about this. Trying to do something about this equates to discrimination based on arbitrary superficial features.