5 ms·
It's going to be one diverse person at a lot of those boards and they will get the stigma of being the person that was put there because the actual good candida
by Sebb767 5y ago
It's going to be one diverse person at a lot of those boards and they will get the stigma of being the person that was put there because the actual good candidates had the wrong skin color. No matter how qualified they might actually be, they can't escape the looks.
Plus, by making this a factor, you're just kindling actual racism by pitting white males against everyone else. The resentment created by rejecting someone for their gender or color of skin does not subside just because the attributes happen to be white and male.
I get the intention, but fighting racism with racism just doesn't work.
- kenjackson 5y agoDo white males feel like they are all unfairly on the board because they passed over all the black candidates? No. They think they're there on merit, because well --- of course, they're white.
- sanity31415 5y agoWelcome to 2021 when people think openly disparaging people on the basis of their race is ok.
- kenjackson 5y agoSo that's your counter? Nothing against the actual merit of the statement? White people don't naturally assume they have their positions on merit? How many whites actually think, "Maybe I shouldn't have this position because of the advantage I've been given being white"? Seriously. How often do white males seriously ponder this?
- sanity31415 5y agoThe merit of your statement disparaging people based on their race? Such statements are without merit.
- kenjackson 5y agoWho have I disparaged based on race?
- haswell 5y ago> No. They think they're there on merit, because well --- of course, they're white. You leave no room for the possibility that people in such positions are self aware, or even capable of understanding the broader context. I suspect this is what folks are reacting to.
- kenjackson 5y agoThe statement doesn’t apply to every white person, but enough that it never comes up that whites “get looks” due to their privileges.
- bitshiftfaced 5y agoIn general, people may more likely believe they got where they are based on merit when they're higher up on the totem pole. That makes sense to me. Where you lose me is when you say that someone's skin color makes them have even more of a tendency (and to say that "of course" that's the way it works).
- kenjackson 5y agoThe poster I was responding to was noting that white people would look askance at blacks on the board, but I assume not whites. Both are at a high position, it only one group would be looked down on for any sort of privilege granted them. It is a function of race. Not an inherent function of being white, but rather the culture that allows white people to always believe “I did this myself”.
- bitshiftfaced 5y ago> Both are at a high position, it only one group would be looked down on for any sort of privilege granted them. It is a function of race. Not an inherent function of being white, but rather the culture that allows white people to always believe “I did this myself”. How is "looking down on for any sort of privilege" a function of race? I thought it was a function of the asymmetrical nature of the privilege.
- kenjackson 5y agoYes, the asymmetry’a axis is race.
- sanity31415 5y agoNo, it's class. Race is what the privileged use to distract attention from that.
- salawat 5y agoIt's rather amusing you assign the frequency of certain types of thinking to skin color. Do you think people who are black think "damn, I love chicken/watermelon/grape drink/stealing things/being violent! Do you think people of Asian descent are all good at math? Like I don't even understand how you can be so blind to the self-referential inconsistency here. Also, for the record? If you can talk the talk, and walk the walk, or at least demonstrate some aptitude at getting the job done so the person hiring you can be reasonably comfortable they aren't just bringing on an anchor; that is infinitely more likely to factor into getting you a position than skin color. t. Have Hired and fired
- kenjackson 5y agoI do think certain lines of thinking are tied to skin color, for white and black people. Not because they are inherent in the color of skin, but because society created the norms for this kind of thinking based on skin color.
- MaximumYComb 5y agoAre they in that position because they are white, or are they in that position because they were born in privileged families? My country has had predominantly white, male Prime Ministers. What's even more remarkable is that every single one of them over the past 20 years went to highly exclusive private schools. The sort of private school that costs more than a good portion of adults earn, i.e $40k per annum. When you disparage an entire group based on skin colour and gender, you're being a racist and sexist. You're being highly offensive to the majority of white men who weren't born with silver spoons. If you look at the most successful tech founders you'll see a pattern of them being born into wealthy families with educated parents. 50 years ago, most wealthy and educated families were white, which is why you see so many of these founders today. For example: Mark Zuckerburg - parents were a psychiatrist and dentist. They literally hired software developers (in the 1990's) to tutor him. Bill Gates - father was a prominant laywer, mother was on executive boards. Access to computers before they were even a thing. Sergie Brin - Father was a professor, mother a NASA researcher. Private schools. Larry Page - Father had a computing professor, mother was a computing instructor. Private schools. Bezos - wealthy family (Grandfather was regional director of the US Atomic Energy Commision).
- thiht 5y agoThank you for this.
- kenjackson 5y agoI’m not even talking about just the wealthiest. How many white firefighters ever question if they got the job because they were white? White people rarely question the accumulated privilege that got them to where they are.
- dekhn 5y agolarry went to a public high school, as did sergey. neither family was wealthy.
- MaximumYComb 5y agoDoes the US have public Monterossi schools? Here in Australia they're all private and expensive.
- t0mbstone 5y agoYou don't solve racism by tearing down people, regardless of their color or privilege. You solve it by lifting up those who are disadvantaged.
- ikerdanzel 5y agoSure get a black in. Then a brown in. Then a LGBTQ in. Then a woman in. Majority consumers don't give a damn how diversify those companies are. Only the most competitives survive. USA had to ban Huawei to stop the competition. Other companies not going to give a shit for this diversity nonsense. If you passed those white males who are truly more capable, guess what? China will reward them handsomely when they go over bringing tons of companies secret. Save a black killed thousands jobs. Save a penny pound foolish.