Plus Ça Change....

...plus çe meme chose...you may recall I wrote about the retirement of Captain Brenda Berkman, the pioneer who was among the first female FDNY firefighters?

Among the comments on that thread was a snarky little trolling from a FReeper which said the following:

This is such a typical liberal story...
A victim (woman,black, or mexican) overcomes horrible obsticals (everything) to succeed at doing something (firefighting...)everyone else does without the fanfare.

"Bang," I hope you're reading this...

Female EMS workers file suit
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

September 27, 2006

Five female Emergency Medical Service employees filed a lawsuit yesterday accusing the Fire Department and city leaders of gender discrimination in promotions.

They and other women in the Fire Department of New York face a "glass ceiling" once they reach the rank of lieutenant, according to their lawsuit in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.

I'm thinking those horrible "obsticals" still exist and are keeping people, not women, Bang, people, from advancing as they should.

The point behind affirmative action programs is to raise everyone who is qualified so that there's a level playing field for them to compete, head-to-head, toe-to-toe, for advancement in a career. That's all.

People like "Bang" concern me, because they behave out of fear of their own shortcomings, and rather than accept the challenge of increased competition. Which is supposed to be a good thing in capitalism.

This isn't about preferences. It's about giving everyone an equal chance, that's all. The right wing, for too long, has extruded the argument that equal opportunity programs should be disbanded because they've either served their purpose or have given an undue leg up to folks who don't qualify under other circumstances. But that's simply not the case. Affirmative action programs are meant to plow the road ahead of hard-working Americans who can make valuable contributions to the economy and to society, if they just have the chances that white males take for granted, like acceptance in a workplace.

Or consideration by their superiors. This is how we have to start framing this argument.

I dream of the day when EEOC programs can be permanently dismantled.

Perhaps under President Obama.

affirmative action