4 ms·

One thing I don't like, which was present in this article, is throwing up our hands and saying "but there's nothing we can do". Of course there is. Nobody says

One thing I don't like, which was present in this article, is throwing up our hands and saying "but there's nothing we can do". Of course there is. Nobody says that about racial discrimination. You think people aren't racially discriminating when they hire people!? Seems to me they absolutely are, which is why I don't think "we can do" much about age discrimination either.

foldr 7y ago
>You think people aren't racially discriminating when they hire people!? That isn't what the GP said. The GP pointed out that it is possible to do something about discrimination if we make a concerted effort. Racial discrimination has not been eliminated but has been significantly reduced.
- lacampbell 7y ago
  All you can do is make it harder (not impossible, just harder) to openly mention race as a factor in hiring. Three people may decide independently to base their hiring decision on the race of a candidate without ever bringing it up. Hell they might do it without even admitting it to themselves. Maybe I'm wrong. But if you ever come to Auckland, NZ I could show you a lot of suspicious coincidences.
  - foldr 7y ago
    If what you were saying was true, there'd still be just as much racism in hiring as there was in the 50s. That's patently not the case. And that's not "all you can do". Societal attitudes regarding race have shifted dramatically over the past few decades.
    - SpicyLemonZest 7y ago
      It's improved since the 50s because racism in hiring was legal then, until we passed a law in the 60s banning it. Social attitudes regarding race have shifted dramatically since 1990 (less than half of Americans approved of mixed race marriages then!), but it's not my impression that this has translated to less racism in hiring than 1990. We also banned discriminating against older people in the 60s, so it's not clear where to go from here.

foldr 7y ago

>You think people aren't racially discriminating when they hire people!? That isn't what the GP said. The GP pointed out that it is possible to do something about discrimination if we make a concerted effort. Racial discrimination has not been eliminated but has been significantly reduced.

lacampbell 7y ago
All you can do is make it harder (not impossible, just harder) to openly mention race as a factor in hiring. Three people may decide independently to base their hiring decision on the race of a candidate without ever bringing it up. Hell they might do it without even admitting it to themselves. Maybe I'm wrong. But if you ever come to Auckland, NZ I could show you a lot of suspicious coincidences.
- foldr 7y ago
  If what you were saying was true, there'd still be just as much racism in hiring as there was in the 50s. That's patently not the case. And that's not "all you can do". Societal attitudes regarding race have shifted dramatically over the past few decades.
  - SpicyLemonZest 7y ago
    It's improved since the 50s because racism in hiring was legal then, until we passed a law in the 60s banning it. Social attitudes regarding race have shifted dramatically since 1990 (less than half of Americans approved of mixed race marriages then!), but it's not my impression that this has translated to less racism in hiring than 1990. We also banned discriminating against older people in the 60s, so it's not clear where to go from here.