Another way to discriminate
While we're on the topic of discrimination, let's talk about mental illness, shall we? (Don't you love how I always parlay it into that?)
When you use the label "mentally ill" you are holding that person back. It comes with a great stigma attached and people (more often than not) immediately discriminate, having a preconceived idea of what that person is all about. The same is true for minorities, particularly Mexicans and Middle Easterners right now. We give them names like "spics" and "towel heads" and pidgeonhole them into a set role in society without getting to know the individual for their gifts and talents. Again, the same can be said for the mentally ill: that they are crazy, unstable, whackos . . . you name it.
If I were to go to a job interview and have "mentally ill" or "bipolar" tattooed on my forehead, or if that classification were denoted by, say, the color of my skin, I doubt they would be as eager to hire me as another applicant. They might envision me as someone liable to snap, to break under pressure, to be just plain weird and difficult to deal with.
For my case, I keep my illness a secret. All my boss knows is that I have a chronic illness that requires frequent doctor's appointments. I am lucky to be able to keep it under wraps, to prevent myself from being labeled, but what about a person of another race? They can't hide it, and it becomes difficult throughout their entire lives to keep from being stereotyped and discriminated against.
I dislike affirmative action as much as the next person, but consider this: I have the Americans with Disabilities Act to protect me against workplace and educational discrimination. In fact, without it, I wouldn't have been able to graduate college. That's protecting people like me; what about them? Yes, they can file lawsuits if it happens, and they usually end up winning. But what is in place to prevent an employer or academic administrator from discriminating in the first place? Affirmative Action.
I don't think it's perfect; it is far from it. I agree that it sometimes keeps more qualified people from getting jobs or being accepted into schools. I agree that it doesn't address the root problem. But it does have its merits and it is useful. Let's be honest: in America, white people ARE more advantaged. That's the way it's always been. But because so many minorities are kicked around their entire lives, why not allow them their leg up?
When you use the label "mentally ill" you are holding that person back. It comes with a great stigma attached and people (more often than not) immediately discriminate, having a preconceived idea of what that person is all about. The same is true for minorities, particularly Mexicans and Middle Easterners right now. We give them names like "spics" and "towel heads" and pidgeonhole them into a set role in society without getting to know the individual for their gifts and talents. Again, the same can be said for the mentally ill: that they are crazy, unstable, whackos . . . you name it.
If I were to go to a job interview and have "mentally ill" or "bipolar" tattooed on my forehead, or if that classification were denoted by, say, the color of my skin, I doubt they would be as eager to hire me as another applicant. They might envision me as someone liable to snap, to break under pressure, to be just plain weird and difficult to deal with.
For my case, I keep my illness a secret. All my boss knows is that I have a chronic illness that requires frequent doctor's appointments. I am lucky to be able to keep it under wraps, to prevent myself from being labeled, but what about a person of another race? They can't hide it, and it becomes difficult throughout their entire lives to keep from being stereotyped and discriminated against.
I dislike affirmative action as much as the next person, but consider this: I have the Americans with Disabilities Act to protect me against workplace and educational discrimination. In fact, without it, I wouldn't have been able to graduate college. That's protecting people like me; what about them? Yes, they can file lawsuits if it happens, and they usually end up winning. But what is in place to prevent an employer or academic administrator from discriminating in the first place? Affirmative Action.
I don't think it's perfect; it is far from it. I agree that it sometimes keeps more qualified people from getting jobs or being accepted into schools. I agree that it doesn't address the root problem. But it does have its merits and it is useful. Let's be honest: in America, white people ARE more advantaged. That's the way it's always been. But because so many minorities are kicked around their entire lives, why not allow them their leg up?
posted by Anonymous at 9/08/2006 10:46:00 AM
1 Comments:
I am all for allowing minorities to participate at the round table of progress, and self-betterment. I want more diversity in colleges and the workplace. The more educated, well-rounded people in we have in society from all walks of life benefits society as a whole. Just to see someone who has 'made it' from a lower-class, urban neighborhood must do wonders for children with their own dreams of self-improvement. BUT Two wrongs don't make a right. Here we are not talking about equal opportunity employment, de-segregation, or even Title 9. All of those sought straight-forward equality. Affirmative action's aim is to reverse equality.
There are better ways to deal with this, but like Jake said, it involves getting to the root of the problem, and no one wants to tackle that big of a problem. I believe the root of the problem is: complacency and contentment in ignorance. Many people want better, but just don't accept consequences for their own life-choices. We should give people as many FAIR chances to better their life as possible, but when they make stupid choices they have to live with them. That's a good compromise between compassion and fairness.
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