How do you experience racism/discrimination?

[johnnyreb]

I agree. The lack of bigotry in Canada makes us much far superior to everyone else. The rest of the world is just genetically inferior to us.

 

[CapitalGuy]

I agree. The lack of bigotry in Canada makes us much far superior to everyone else. The rest of the world is just genetically inferior to us.

Uh, ya dude, that's exactly what I said. Thanks for your insights. Wait, let me find that rolley-eyed button. Shit, I can't find it, even though it would help me point out that you're an idiot.

 

[basketcase]

Lol.. not sure if you are being sarcastic or serious. please clarify..

My post about the "rights" of white people (I am not just talking about white hetero males) being eroded is quite serious.

Yes, sarcasm. We may not have it as easy as a generation ago but we are still far better off than visible minorities and women.


That being said, I was discriminated against at an Indian food place a couple weeks ago when I had to argue with them to get Indian hot spice, not white person hot.

 

[basketcase]

I agree. The lack of bigotry in Canada makes us much far superior to everyone else. The rest of the world is just genetically inferior to us.

Uh, ya dude, that's exactly what I said. Thanks for your insights. Wait, let me find that rolley-eyed button. Shit, I can't find it, even though it would help me point out that you're an idiot.

Speaking of sarcasm...and the missing of it.

 

[Azprint]

You're so hard done by. My sympathies.

My favourite pocket gnome. How are ya?

 

[Azprint]

You know. I'd like to hear one right he does not have as a Canadian, that a Canadian visible minority has.

I'd also like to see him list the implied privileges he does/doesn't have. He can even use the link I posted above to even refute 1 of the points made.

Let's go with the easy one, I don't have a privilege of receiving a government job over a minority or a woman.

 

[Azprint]

Red, it might be worse than you think. Azprint started the thread about the inferiority of short people. I suspect he has to support them as well. His views are interesting in that they come from an EE person who has been here for only ten years.

It wasn't about their inferiority but rather their behavior. Yeah, been here for 10 years and still can't figure out why I am subjected to affirmative action just because I don't have any shade of brown in my skin pigmentation. Surely you gonna tell me the reasoning why I should feel white man's guilt.

 

[Azprint]

You are one of the most ignorant men in this Board.

Very intelligent reply.

 

[Azprint]

you are real funny...forgetting, or ignoring 1000 years of human history.. if you seriously think that being white is a disadvantage in our society , then you are delusional, if your not, then you are just trolling..

So what are the benefits?

 

[fmahovalich]

White males, particularly in Government, and in many large companies are now being passed over to allow,in general, more women to be promoted. It's a practice that is not hidden, and is often gravitated to by industries who wanna be able to say 'look, see, our women compliment' is better than the next company.

This of course often goes against a policy of hiring a more trained, experienced and qualified person, often a white guy..


im not complaining......it's just the way it is.

 

[Azprint]

Actually, as a supporter of affirmative action, I disagree with that.

The justification for affirmative action is that the system is biased all the way through. By the time you show up for a job interview, you are the product of a multi-year system that is biased at every stage. Quality of home life, quality of early education, progress through the university system, through social networks, work opportunities provided by families and friends, all lead up to that day that you are sitting there in the job interview hoping to get that leg up.

The principle behind affirmative action is that in a system that is biased at every point, you have to correct that bias at every point.

Which is a very different principle than saying that it is simply there to counter-act unfair hiring practices. That misses the real point. Maybe we are all born equal, but from about five minutes after that, things are anything but equal. Affirmative action is meant to address that.

Another principle behind it is that so long as the entire system remains racially distorted, it will continue to be biased. That unless the people who make up the system reflect the racial mix, there will be inherent biases remaining. So, even if in the short term affirmative actions means not always hiring the best person for the job, it will result in a more effective and efficient society in the long run. In the long run, it really is a waste of human capital to shut out entire segments of the population. But sometimes you need short term pain to achieve the sort of long-term gain that implies.

What is the long-term impact of changing the perception that a certain racial group cannot make good school teachers? Or lawyers? I would say that the long-term benefit of that massively outweights the cost of having slightly worse lawyers and teachers. Affirmative action created role models, even if perhaps those models weren't always the best people for the job. The generation that followed benefited tremendously from that--from the elimination of race as a factor. Huge.

So the principle of affirmative action really is to give a leg up to someone who is qualified, but who might not be the most qualified, in service of a greater good.

That's an uncomfortable discussion to have because lots of people inherently believe that the best person should get the job -- but when the best person is the product of a biased system, it really just isn't all that simple.


Anyone who thinks race relations, gender equity, etc., is a simple problem, easily fixed by the imposition of some simple procedure, is dreaming. These are hard problems, the solutions are imperfect, but better than no solutions at all.

And I believe it has worked--affirmative action started a few decades ago, and we probably put a few losers into jobs over the years--but these days there is a LOT less bias than there used to be, as a result less need for affirmative action. But I think that is a consequence of us having implemented it, and suffered through 20 years of it, to get to a point where the best person for the job really might be a minority and affirmative action is no longer needed. Well it's probably still needed--but we have seen some progress.

In the organization I work for these days it is a non issue. In theory we subscribe to those principles in our hiring practices. In reality we don't have to implement quotas because just hiring the best person for the job has resulted in a pretty diverse racial mix. Once upon a time that might not have been so -- but it is now, and I really think, thanks to the affirmative action programs of the past.

You're arguing that Affirmative Action was beneficial to minorities, no shit Sherlock. Except I still don't see the point of it being in the place in the first place here in Canada.

 

[nobody123]

So what are the benefits?

Seriously? You SERIOUSLY have to ask that question. Oh.... dude!

http://whatever.scalzi.com/2012/05/15/straight-white-male-the-lowest-difficulty-setting-there-is/

I’ve been thinking of a way to explain to straight white men how life works for them, without invoking the dreaded word “privilege,” to which they react like vampires being fed a garlic tart at high noon. It’s not that the word “privilege” is incorrect, it’s that it’s not their word. When confronted with “privilege,” they fiddle with the word itself, and haul out the dictionaries and find every possible way to talk about the word but not any of the things the word signifies.

So, the challenge: how to get across the ideas bound up in the word “privilege,” in a way that your average straight white man will get, without freaking out about it?

Being a white guy who likes women, here’s how I would do it:

Dudes. Imagine life here in the US — or indeed, pretty much anywhere in the Western world — is a massive role playing game, like World of Warcraft except appallingly mundane, where most quests involve the acquisition of money, cell phones and donuts, although not always at the same time. Let’s call it The Real World. You have installed The Real World on your computer and are about to start playing, but first you go to the settings tab to bind your keys, fiddle with your defaults, and choose the difficulty setting for the game. Got it?

Okay: In the role playing game known as The Real World, “Straight White Male” is the lowest difficulty setting there is.

This means that the default behaviors for almost all the non-player characters in the game are easier on you than they would be otherwise. The default barriers for completions of quests are lower. Your leveling-up thresholds come more quickly. You automatically gain entry to some parts of the map that others have to work for. The game is easier to play, automatically, and when you need help, by default it’s easier to get.

Now, once you’ve selected the “Straight White Male” difficulty setting, you still have to create a character, and how many points you get to start — and how they are apportioned — will make a difference. Initially the computer will tell you how many points you get and how they are divided up. If you start with 25 points, and your dump stat is wealth, well, then you may be kind of screwed. If you start with 250 points and your dump stat is charisma, well, then you’re probably fine. Be aware the computer makes it difficult to start with more than 30 points; people on higher difficulty settings generally start with even fewer than that.

As the game progresses, your goal is to gain points, apportion them wisely, and level up. If you start with fewer points and fewer of them in critical stat categories, or choose poorly regarding the skills you decide to level up on, then the game will still be difficult for you. But because you’re playing on the “Straight White Male” setting, gaining points and leveling up will still by default be easier, all other things being equal, than for another player using a higher difficulty setting.

Likewise, it’s certainly possible someone playing at a higher difficulty setting is progressing more quickly than you are, because they had more points initially given to them by the computer and/or their highest stats are wealth, intelligence and constitution and/or simply because they play the game better than you do. It doesn’t change the fact you are still playing on the lowest difficulty setting.

You can lose playing on the lowest difficulty setting. The lowest difficulty setting is still the easiest setting to win on. The player who plays on the “Gay Minority Female” setting? Hardcore.

And maybe at this point you say, hey, I like a challenge, I want to change my difficulty setting! Well, here’s the thing: In The Real World, you don’t unlock any rewards or receive any benefit for playing on higher difficulty settings. The game is just harder, and potentially a lot less fun. And you say, okay, but what if I want to replay the game later on a higher difficulty setting, just to see what it’s like? Well, here’s the other thing about The Real World: You only get to play it once. So why make it more difficult than it has to be? Your goal is to win the game, not make it difficult.

Oh, and one other thing. Remember when I said that you could choose your difficulty setting in The Real World? Well, I lied. In fact, the computer chooses the difficulty setting for you. You don’t get a choice; you just get what gets given to you at the start of the game, and then you have to deal with it.

So that’s “Straight White Male” for you in The Real World (and also, in the real world): The lowest difficulty setting there is. All things being equal, and even when they are not, if the computer — or life — assigns you the “Straight White Male” difficulty setting, then brother, you’ve caught a break

.

 

[fuji]

You're arguing that Affirmative Action was beneficial to minorities, no shit Sherlock. Except I still don't see the point of it being in the place in the first place here in Canada.

We are an immigrant country. Squashing bias against immigrants (aka minorities) is a national priority.

 

[Azprint]

We are an immigrant country. Squashing bias against immigrants (aka minorities) is a national priority.

Lol, unless you happen to be a white immigrant like me. I guess I should feel privileged enough for being granted the entry, considering the immigration policy resembles wonderland, you have to be THAT brown to enter.

 

[Azprint]

Seriously? You SERIOUSLY have to ask that question. Oh.... dude!

Oh, dude indeed. Who the fuck is John Scalzi and why would you post that shit lol? The read was so boring and dumb...somebody tell him to put the game pad away.

 

[HotelCali]

Azprint must live on a different planet if he believes white males are less priviledged than any other demographic. Or, he's so self-absorbed that he's never bothered investigating the troubles that minorities go through in order to gain acceptance in the wordplace and equal footing in society. Ironic he makes his stance known on an escort review board of all things. He's using a tiny shred of evidence and using it as justification for a wild, far-reaching claim. Equal representation being encouraged in government jobs versus the insane hardships of immigrating as well as a society which has only relatively recently recognized racism as something that needs to be tackled. Way to put blinders on and be the guy who just talks louder, repeating the same thing over and over instead of facing obvious truths Az.

 

[slowandeasy]

I get it just fine. I just don't think we should get all self-congratulatory (and stop making progress) just because there are countries that are worse than ours.

How about if we take the time to appreciate that we have done a good job, and try to continue making real progress that benefits all of society, not just catering to some special interest groups like we seem to be doing these days.

 

[slowandeasy]

Let's go with the easy one, I don't have a privilege of receiving a government job over a minority or a woman.

Do you have better qualifications than the minority or woman?

Secondly, you might want to look up at the top of the food chain and look to see who are in senior positions in most govt or corporate offices.

Thirdly, do you really think that Adam Giambrone achieved the success because of his intelligence or hard work?

http://thenonconformer.wordpress.com/2010/02/11/toronto-councillor-adam-giambrone-lies/


Azprint, calm yourself down... If you include Jews in your definition of "white" then white males still rule the world.. You are just not the Alpha dogs that you once were.

 

[nobody123]

Oh, dude indeed. Who the fuck is John Scalzi and why would you post that shit lol? The read was so boring and dumb...somebody tell him to put the game pad away.

He's a bestselling writer, actually. And he couched the whole thing in gaming terms to speak to a certain predominantly white male demographic. Sad to see that (judging by your TL : DR response) even that is above you.

 

[canada-man]

I was once told in have a "thick accent" months after I sent in application when responding to an ad. I only made one phone call to a lady that answered and she didn't have any problems understanding me.