[S.]

Why is it that whenever a minority is hired for any job besides janitor, fast food worker, maid or traditional black-only jobs, reverse discrimination is hollered? Does this mean that whites feel the only jobs minorities deserve are low-paying, and that anything other than that is discrimination?

User Detail :  

Name : S., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 23, City : Birmingham, State : AL Country : United States, Occupation : Graduate Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Matthew]

It is usually because there was a better qualified 'white' person, but because of the need to be politically correct, it will go to someone not as deserving. Blacks and whites have different work ethics, educational backgrounds and different skills when dealing with cultures different from themselves.

User Detail :  

Name : Matthew, Gender : M, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 45, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, 

[Alex J.]

Actually, while 40 percent of Caucasians believe that reverse discrimination happens in the workplace, only 7 percent claim to have been personally affected by reverse discrimination, and only 25 percent claim to have seen it happen to people they know. (Source: Orlando Patterson, The Ordeal of Integration)

User Detail :  

Name : Alex J., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Bisexual, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Jewish, Age : 17, City : Elkins Park, State : PA Country : United States, Occupation : High School student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, 

[S. Bowyer]

I'd say whites holler 'reverse discrimination' because many believe (rightly or wrongly) that blacks have lower intelligence than whites. Because social policies deny the legitimacy of real differences, blacks are seen as getting artificial help that is unavailable to whites. Therefore the 'holler.'

Most whites would say a person deserves the job he or she is qualified for. Incidentally, I have not observed that whites cry 'reverse discrimination' when Asians are hired for the better jobs.

User Detail :  

Name : S. Bowyer, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Catholic, Age : 59, City : Vancouver, State : WA Country : United States, Occupation : engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Rick29882]

It might be because of a perception that Affirmitive Action programs and political correctness give minorities advantages in the workplace that whites don't have, rather than a perception that no blacks are qualified for anything other than menial work.

User Detail :  

Name : Rick29882, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : Springfield, State : OH Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Wayne C.]

I suspect that many whites still do not feel they should have to compete with blacks (this tends to primarily happen when the 'minority' is black) for jobs, or even worse, to 'lose' a job to blacks. They don't seem to care as much if the 'minority' is Asian - probably due to the stereotypes of Asians as smart and studious, and blacks as dumb and lazy. The really infuriating thing is that there is still plenty of discrimination, and many subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways of discriminating. Interestingly, I have seen instances at two companies at which I worked in the past where some unqualified blacks were hired. Not just over better-qualified whites - just better-qualified people. It was also obvious they were not well qualified, implying that they had been hired specifically because they were unqualified. For example: If all of the engineers that you hire have B.S. degrees in engineering from accredited schools, but most of your blacks are from a non-accredited school or do not have the same degree, there is obviously something going on. I once worked for a company that was doing this back when I first graduated with my B.S. in engineering. One thing I noticed: These particular blacks could never be assigned to 'high-profile' projects because they just didn't have the 'right background' to do that type of work.

User Detail :  

Name : Wayne C., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Baptist, Age : 41, City : Parsippany, State : NJ Country : United States, Occupation : Marketing, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Timber]

Do you have proof of that last sentence?

User Detail :  

Name : Timber, City : ., State : KY Country : United States, 

[Ben]

As with most things, it depends on the situation. I think the calls of reverse discrimination are most common in areas where the white candidates far outnumber the minority ones. Say, for example, you work in an office where nine employees are white and one is black. If all of them do an apparently equal job and the black employee is promoted, the white ones may feel he got the job 'because he is black,' and the company either 'wants to be more diverse' or feels that it will be looked down upon if it doesn't have minorities in higher-level positions. The loss of jobs by white men is also hard to swallow for some. As an educated young white man, I would have been assured of a good career and a likely successful life 50 years ago. Today, with women and minorites competing for the same jobs, my chances of success are less than half of what they would have been then. Is that fair? Yes. But it's not always easy to enjoy when you're now the one on the short end of the stick.

User Detail :  

Name : Ben, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 25, City : Morgantown, State : WV Country : United States, Occupation : salesperson, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[William]

It's because many times the job may be given to the black person because they are black. Many times the white person can prove that they were more qualified. That is discrimination, reverse or not. If we are denied something because of the color of our skin, we have every right to yell racism as long and as loudly as you would.

User Detail :  

Name : William, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Methodist, Age : 39, City : Columbia, State : SC Country : United States, Occupation : Sales, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Ed S.]

First, it's not always... nothing's 100%. However, because minorities and women have been historically shut out of positions of power, and has only recently begun to change, there is a sense of 'what the?!' when you see a face you wouldn't expect in a job you wouldn't expect. The same goes in the opposite direction: a white guy flipping burgers at an inner-city fast food joint would turn most heads. Not to say that because it's human nauture that is acceptable. On a corperate level, there is certainly a natual backlash to any appearance of affirmative action, or other forms of weighted award. For instance, if i knew there was pressure on my upper management to 'diversify' and i suddenly found myself with a black woman boss, i would certainly question the motive. She could turn out to be the best boss ever, but when you include those factors in today's pc climate, unfortantely for her, she's got her work cut out for her. However, if there was no pressure, and a black woman turned up as my boss i would assume that she was the best person for the job. Does that make any sense? It's hard because we're both looking at the same situation from different sides of the fence. Which doesn't mean one of us is more right. Honest people of any color don't appreciate unfairness. That goes for any form of favortism. I don't particulary like or respect one of my bosses because it is widely know that she slept her way to the top (who knew people did that anymore?!) Of course, that's not the same thing as affirmative action, who's aim is true... but it result is the same: seemingly unfair treatment. Now, don't confuse this with historical poor treatment of minorities, which is certainly as unfair as it gets, it's just that two wrongs don't make a right. And if you think affirmative action is necessary, i would kindly turn your attention to the NFL, NBA and most recently, and notably, the PGA. Funny how that works. As for the last part of your question, i don't think that whites feel minorities only deserve to flip burgers. Is that even a 'traditional' manority position? I flipped burgers for a while... i know what you meant, but again, none of this stuff is 100%. As humans we generalize. That's how our brains work. I think we're geting better though.

User Detail :  

Name : Ed S., Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 29, City : New York, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : misc, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Evolon]

At first, I didnt even want to respond to this topic since it is such a hotly discussed one, and so emotionally driven... But i now feel the need to throw my theory into the ring... The whole 'reverse discrimination' issue is very similar to the 'man holding me down' mentality that you see in some black people... it stems from an external locus of control... if the white person applies for the job, is interviewed, and is not hired because the job was earned a black person, the 'reverse discrimination' issue is thrown in because that person had no other reason for not getting the job... the black person could be more, less, or equally as qualified, and it wouldnt matter... just as with the 'man holding me down' mentality... the person has run out of excuses... they dont have any other reason to explain what happened, so they put it off on someone else... in those cases it will never be that they just didnt get the job, or they just didnt do well... it will always be that someone is out to get them, whether it is 'the man' or 'affirmative action', someone is trying to keep them from getting what they want... the truth is, its hard for a black person to get the respect and opportunities that they have done so much to earn... this i speak from personally... i just recently finished my first degree in Kinesiology, and i still dont think that ive earned the respect of my classmates, peers, or instructors... theres never a worse feeling than getting a college degree, and knowing that it wont be enough to help you to live comfortably... in so many cases we have to go over and above what our counterparts do just to get the same recognition... discrimination exists, on both sides of the fence... but the key to fighting it is to not let it stop you... you must be aggressive in your stand against those that intend to hold you back, and persistent in the achievement of your goals... it is only in that way that this whole issue will cease to exists, because at that point, it will no longer matter if 'the man' or 'affirmative action' is trying to hold you back, because it wont be possible anymore...

User Detail :  

Name : Evolon, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 23, City : Huntsville, State : TX Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Lower class, 

[Carolyn]

I honestly believe that the term reverse descrimination is the wrong term to use. The definition of discrimination is to judge and deny someone because of their race, ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, and religion. Discrimination is discrimination and there is no other way to put it. And as far as the work place goes, I don't believe that, as a majority, whites think blacks belong in lower class jobs.

User Detail :  

Name : Carolyn, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 21, City : O'Fallon, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[C.S.]

I think Affirmative Action has actually worked against minorities, in this case. When a minority is the best person qualified for a job, they're still accused of getting the job only because of their race or gender. I remember a young black man (all my African-American/Black friends call themselves 'black') at a prestigious university being accused by classmates of getting into the Engineering program simply because he was black. That university had participated in a lot of affirmative action. But in this young man's case, he was extremely intelligent and hard working, yet most people assumed that he got there only because he was black because other people had been let into the program for that reason.

User Detail :  

Name : C.S., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 27, City : Denver, State : CO Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Dara]

Do you complain when the boss gives his or her relative or crony a job over you? You say that many times the job is given to a black person because they are black but can you cite one first-person account of this? White people cry reverse discrimination because it is inconceivable to them that a black person can be better qualified. And furthermore, job qualifications are always subjective rather than objective, based on a combination of paper qualifications plus recommendations, contacts and personal chemistry. When it comes to contacts and personal chemistry, white people usually have an advantage with a white supervisor because they know more of the same people and the white supervisor will be more personally comfortable with a white employee.

User Detail :  

Name : Dara, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 33, City : Wilmington, State : DE Country : United States, Occupation : Librarian, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[S.]

Your post is one of the most intelligent I've read among the white responses. A lot of other white males answered the question, but one just said it was because it's discrimination, which leads me to believe he believes black people are not qualified to do certain jobs. Thank you for such an honest answer.

User Detail :  

Name : S., Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Age : 23, City : Birmingham, State : AL Country : United States, Occupation : Graduate Student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Author]

Posts