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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Don’t Judge Affirmative Action Programs Unless You Have All The Facts

Jennifer James

‘It has always been a mystery to me how men can feel themselves honored by the humiliation of their fellow beings.” - Ghandi

Dear Readers: I have received many letters and telephone calls, intensely positive and intensely negative, about my column on the current affirmative action dialogue. The following letter was sent to me via my editor.

Dear editor: I have seen that many Americans wish to ignore or rationalize the actions of previous generations as if those actions have no bearing on our current world. This idea is absurd. History is the same as any other cause - it will have an effect.

The cultural turmoil that exists today in all realms of society springs from an insistent denial of the fact that we as a country have not been prepared to look at the brutal truths of our history.

As long as the populace of this country are so easily duped into believing that our history is innocuous and that the historical status quo truly faces a threat from any and all nonwhites, this land of ours will face insurmountable hurdles.

Much of the rhetoric of politicians today is simply the hatemongering of yesteryear, yet it is given consistent credibility in the media, the voting booth and society at large. - Lee

Dear Lee: Edward DeBono, a scientist who studies polarized thinking processes, writes about “rock logic” and “water logic.”

Rock logic is what we now hear from some opposed to affirmative action, i.e. there should be absolutely no discrimination of any sort. Did they use this same logic when those they thought were being discriminated against were minorities and female? Where are they now with all the discrimination based on nepotism, “connections,” and legacies like alumni for college entrance.

Water logic takes into account all the known data in the stream, the history and culture, and searches for a viable solution. Water logic would state that justice will never come about, in a fluid process, by a statement to stop discrimination completely.

A good rock logic solution to accusations of reverse discrimination would be tests and work evaluation processes that actually measure who got the job and why they got the job and who is doing the job well and why. But, in every study of applicants with equivalent resumes, reference and appearance applying for jobs conducted by the Urban Institute, whites get far more offers.

Many of our IQ and aptitude tests and evaluation measures are pre-1950s and they do not measure the thinking and communication skills necessary for today’s marketplace. These tests frequently exclude the people skills that would provide us with a less confrontational, more cooperative workplace and world. We need better measures, not individual stories of reverse discrimination that spread like “urban legends.”

It is the same problem that I have written about in our high schools. The old culture is often still that of warring tribes. We begin to believe that the sport contest or the job contest is a real battle, we begin to want to hurt the other side. We begin to make up stories about them and their ways.

We do the same in the rest of society. We tell someone we gave his job to a minority even if we never intended to hire him, we deflect his anger by being on his side. We tell our children that others are taking their opportunities. We begin to believe that what we don’t have has been taken from us by “the other side.”

Water logic tells you to ask yourself now, how often in your life you feel you have been denied something (attention, respect, housing, a particular neighborhood, school, an apprenticeship, a job, a friendship, a promotion, a meal, a hotel room, a seat, a ride, a chance) because of your color or your gender. Add up the actual discrimination you have felt or known. Imagine your life if you were identified as “different.”

There are no studies indicating any pattern of discrimination against equally qualified white males in the American workplace. In an international market, diversity is as viable and measurable a qualification as being a white male once was.

There are many studies documenting discrimination and “the glass ceiling.” The most recent one pointed out that 95 percent of senior management positions in 1995 America are held by white males. Read “The Spoils of Victimhood” in the March 27 New Yorker. Unqualified people should never be given preference but even the definition of qualified is an issue.

We must ask ourselves why there is so much fear and anger given the actual data? Why would any leader want to whip up this type of emotion or hysteria with no real data to back it up? Read “Ishi: The Last Yahi” for data on the deaths of Native Americans.

I have written about discrimination often and will again. I deeply believe that our treatment of others and our beliefs about their value are a window into our own soul. It tells us who we are and what we are and it affects every other part of our life. - Jennifer

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