19 ms·

> 87% of squirrels work in a profession hostile to badgers, and 88% of badgers work in a profession hostile to squirrels. This is a good point, and I think th

> 87% of squirrels work in a profession hostile to badgers, and 88% of badgers work in a profession hostile to squirrels. This is a good point, and I think this mindset could go a long way towards avoiding the sort of demonizing that often undermines conversations on this topic. Surely a large part of the dynamic is that the statistical majority can naturally come to regard itself as "normal" (in the normative as well as statistical sense). I do think we miss something, though, if we overlook the fact that, taking a step back, the vast majority of professions (especially lucrative ones and those that come with a substantial amount of social power) are badger-dominated. This is probably not an accident and, whatever the cause, there are good reasons to think this situation is systematically unfair to squirrels. And while it doesn't doesn't come about because badgers are all jerks, we also need to remember that personally exonerating all the badgers is not really the point, and will not solve our problems.

sliverstorm 11y ago
And while it doesn't doesn't come about because badgers are all jerks, we also need to remember that personally exonerating all the badgers is not really the point You may have "exonerate" backwards in your head? absolve (someone) from blame for a fault or wrongdoing
- pdabbadabba 11y ago
  Nope. That is exactly what I meant. Whenever workplace discrimination comes up, I get the sense that a certain portion of the community concerns itself primarily with establishing that most (maybe all!) of the people involved are not Bad People. My point is that they may be right, but whether the people involved are Bad People is really not the point.
belorn 11y ago
The list tops with profession which are all blue collar jobs. Midwifes had highest with 99.7% majority, following with dentist nurses and floor carpenters each having above the 99% line. After that we got motor mechanics, thin-metal worker and nurses for children hospitals which are 99%, 99%, and 98% respectively. If we only look at CEO/president professions in different industries, the highest majority was in CEO for minor construction with 96% majority, followed by CEO for electric installation at 92% and CEO for health and child care at 84%. Badger, Badger, and Squirrel respectively.
pbhjpbhj 11y ago
Just addressing the analogy but tree squirrels aren't so good at digging and badgers aren't so good at climbing. So when a squirrel takes a job that involves digging not based on their digging ability but on their species being under-represented in digging jobs then the other badgers would be rightfully perturbed. The piece does a petitio principii in assuming that squirrels and badgers are both naturally predisposed as species to perform the same tasks. They may be, but it's a pertinent conclusion to the analogy and so can't be assumed.

sliverstorm 11y ago

And while it doesn't doesn't come about because badgers are all jerks, we also need to remember that personally exonerating all the badgers is not really the point You may have "exonerate" backwards in your head? absolve (someone) from blame for a fault or wrongdoing

pdabbadabba 11y ago
Nope. That is exactly what I meant. Whenever workplace discrimination comes up, I get the sense that a certain portion of the community concerns itself primarily with establishing that most (maybe all!) of the people involved are not Bad People. My point is that they may be right, but whether the people involved are Bad People is really not the point.

belorn 11y ago

The list tops with profession which are all blue collar jobs. Midwifes had highest with 99.7% majority, following with dentist nurses and floor carpenters each having above the 99% line. After that we got motor mechanics, thin-metal worker and nurses for children hospitals which are 99%, 99%, and 98% respectively. If we only look at CEO/president professions in different industries, the highest majority was in CEO for minor construction with 96% majority, followed by CEO for electric installation at 92% and CEO for health and child care at 84%. Badger, Badger, and Squirrel respectively.

pbhjpbhj 11y ago

Just addressing the analogy but tree squirrels aren't so good at digging and badgers aren't so good at climbing. So when a squirrel takes a job that involves digging not based on their digging ability but on their species being under-represented in digging jobs then the other badgers would be rightfully perturbed. The piece does a petitio principii in assuming that squirrels and badgers are both naturally predisposed as species to perform the same tasks. They may be, but it's a pertinent conclusion to the analogy and so can't be assumed.