I tend to agree with gblvr that it's a matter of privilege that you don't see it. Maybe that's because I'm female and have been treated as less desirable/valuable/intelligent by people even after proving myself through the standard tests, etc. That said, I've oodles of privilege and opportunity that are not automatically awarded to women of color.
I also have to question the fact that the 16 were predominantly white. If it's a matter of statistics or the fact that these firefighters were the "best", is it possible that there is something outside of the test (or written into the test itself, perhaps) that automatically puts people of color at a disadvantage? Could socioeconomic influences already affect their education and professional levels, which holds them back from the same opportunities that are afforded to caucasians? And if that's the case, if minorities are still held back by systems of integrated oppression and institutionalized racism, then aren't quotas a way of ensuring that *some* minorities get a chance to beat those hurdles?
And it's true that there are issues of class at work here, too. I grew up lower-middle class and have pushed my way up. I'm clearly able to see privileges I'm afforded now at my current salary that were not in reach to me when I was younger. That said, class issues also tend to fall harder against racial and female minorities.
The quota does not set every white male back. It does not throw every minority forward. It is a way to help *some* break past institutionalized discrimination, and honestly, as long as they've been around, they've not been enough to prevent social stigmas.
Take, for instance, Sonya Sotomayer, and all the critics who indicated that she was only up a pick for a justice because she was a female minority. Why was that brought up? Why were her merits and work history questioned? Her years of blood and sweat are excused away by people who assume Obama simply wanted to fill a "type".
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Date: 2009-06-30 12:18 am (UTC)I also have to question the fact that the 16 were predominantly white. If it's a matter of statistics or the fact that these firefighters were the "best", is it possible that there is something outside of the test (or written into the test itself, perhaps) that automatically puts people of color at a disadvantage? Could socioeconomic influences already affect their education and professional levels, which holds them back from the same opportunities that are afforded to caucasians? And if that's the case, if minorities are still held back by systems of integrated oppression and institutionalized racism, then aren't quotas a way of ensuring that *some* minorities get a chance to beat those hurdles?
And it's true that there are issues of class at work here, too. I grew up lower-middle class and have pushed my way up. I'm clearly able to see privileges I'm afforded now at my current salary that were not in reach to me when I was younger. That said, class issues also tend to fall harder against racial and female minorities.
The quota does not set every white male back. It does not throw every minority forward. It is a way to help *some* break past institutionalized discrimination, and honestly, as long as they've been around, they've not been enough to prevent social stigmas.
Take, for instance, Sonya Sotomayer, and all the critics who indicated that she was only up a pick for a justice because she was a female minority. Why was that brought up? Why were her merits and work history questioned? Her years of blood and sweat are excused away by people who assume Obama simply wanted to fill a "type".