[Jacqueline-C20995]

White people are not a minority group in the United States. The fact is that most of the people in this country are white, and the vast majority of those in positions of power are white. Hiring quotas based on ethnicity and gender were developed to help level the playing field in the job market, and so that qualified women and people of color get their foot in the door. The number of jobs specifically set aside for underrepresented groups is usually small compared with the number of total jobs availible. I don't think that the quota system is preventing qualified white people from getting jobs. Job shortages, lay offs, inability to perform the work, inadiquate experience, bad attitude, irresponsibility, racism, these are the things that prevent people form getting hired or keeping their jobs.

User Detail :  

Name : Jacqueline-C20995, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 25, City : San Jose, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[A.C.C.]

If whites have a problem getting jobs, then why do they have the lowest unemployment of any group, including Asians, who are better educated as a group than whites? As for a second language, that's a badly needed skill in the workplace which far too few Americans have but most jobs DON'T require. Latinos and Asians are losing their second language at an alarming rate in any case and are routinely fired for speaking their naitve languages at work. You also ignore the fact that the majority of people who benefit from these hiring practices you complain about are just like you- they are white women. Finally, you are not the minority now. Whites still make up 80% of the US population and are the largest group in every state except Hawaii. There are dozens of states in the West and Midwest where anyone nonwhite is a rare sight. If I had a penny for every time someone white complained about affirmative action to explain their own failures, I'd be a rich man. And if I had one for every time I was given a job only for being nonwhite, I wouldn't have a cent. I ask you, why do you feel the need to resent and fear us so?

User Detail :  

Name : A.C.C., Race : Mexican and American Indian, City : W Lafayette, State : IN Country : United States, Occupation : Grad student, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[KM26934]

To me, white people seem to have a problem getting jobs now because there must be a certain amount of blacks, Asians, Hispanics, etc., employed. And we have to know how to speak another language to get a job. Why are we the minorities now?

User Detail :  

Name : KM26934, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 23, City : Anacortes, State : WA Country : United States, Occupation : Nurse/mother, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[Christopher-D32108]

For the Amercian Caucasion, the fertility rate is way down compared to 30 years ago for a great many reasons. For most minorities, the fertility rate, while down, still remains higher. When the baby boomers start passing away, whites will become the minority in this nation, and there is no stopping of such.

User Detail :  

Name : Christopher-D32108, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Christian, Age : 23, City : Arlington, State : TX Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Samuel]

If white people are having a problem getting jobs, its because there is a tight job market where you live. In the relativity brief period following the Civil War (and alleged emancipation) and predating the Civil Rights Act of 1964, there were numerous race riots in American cities, usually targeting blacks. The roots of these riots were usually based in white citizens' disillusionment with the economic conditions of the time. They usually blamed the influx of poor blacks from rural areas for their troubles, and many didn't hesitate to express their dissatisfaction by destroying black lives and property. Now, remember: this was during the height of Jim Crow, before Affirmative Action. Due to indifference at all levels of government, blacks usually found themselves outnumbered and unprotected (e.g. Rosewood, FL, and Tulsa, OK in the '20's). While the systems of affirmative action are terribly imperfect (keep in mind that they were a compromise between well-meaning, liberal whites and begrudged hard-liners, not black scholars and social scientists), they have, in spite of themselves, begun to have a positive effect on the minority communities. Black families, armed with better-paying, more secure jobs, have been able to send their children to quality education in greater numbers. The playing field has started to tilt toward level. Could this be the real reason for the 'angry white' backlash in the media (strange that 'neutral' newspapers use such terms as 'quota' and 'preference' when referring to programs that are designed to protect minorities from institutional discrimination, the kind that often 'prefers' white males; also, there seems to be a great push to promote negative images of blacks in pop culture, e.g. 'gangsta' rap and comic buffoonery)? Whites are not yet the statistical minority, but I can see that some of you seem to be worried about losing your traditional lion's share of opportunity. Is a level playing field such a bad thing?

User Detail :  

Name : Samuel, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Age : 31, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Firefighter, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, 

[Nkenge]

It seems to me that the main complaint of 'reverse discrimination' is that being White no longer affords one the cachet and unbounded privileges of yore. Whites cannot just bully and terrorize people of color wholesale as in the past. Whites do not have wholesale control over the bodies and movements of people of color like before. Whites must now see people of color as real job competition. They cannot just assume that a 'minority' person is there only to shine shoes or clean toilets a woman (White) wasn't there just to be a secretary. Whites didn't seem to complain much when all-White Affirmative Action was the name of the game in the U.S. So why is there such a problem now that Whites actual must compete with people of color. And please let's not hear the ol' rant of the automaticall-unqualified-read-intellectually-inferior-minority-worker as an excuse. While I do recognize that there are minorities who've been Peter Principled into their jobs I've met plenty of Whites like that too. And law of large numbers would indicate that there are SOME people of color who are actually smart enough and more than capable of doing 'White men's jobs.' This same law would also indicate that there are Whites who are in the positions they're in, not due to intelligence or experience or qualifications but due to the fact that their firm values their Whiteness more than anything.

User Detail :  

Name : Nkenge, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, 

[pg]

To me, this seems to be the usual complaint about affirmative action. Unfortunately, this sentiment is not really true. Those who have received the greatest benefit from affirmative action are white women. Many people have trouble getting jobs today as the economy evolves from low-education/high-pay manufacturing to high-education/high-pay information society. The person making $60,000 a year with a high school education is rare today; they are generally in the lower-paying service sector. Before blaming affirmative action, check out the jobs available and skills required, and then take a hard look at your resume. As far as a second language, Americans have been isolated and have never really needed a second language. Citizens of less-isolated nations often speak two or three languages. With the development of a 'global community,' a second or third language would be to your benefit. In other words, look at trends and requirements and work to stay ahead of the curve.

User Detail :  

Name : pg, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, City : Annapolis, State : MD Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, 

[Briggs]

Wake up. There couldn't possibly be a profession where the answer to that question isn't more obvious. The day that the majority stockholder of an HMO is somebody Black you can start blaming minorities for keeping you out of job in the medical profession. You really should read the news in stead of just watching it. Affirmative action is being re-voked in many states, and was never enforced in some (and as was stated in a previous response, you benefitted from that the most). I know that it's really easy to blame and convict the scapegoat. But it's also very stupid if you continue to ignore what's really keeping you down.

User Detail :  

Name : Briggs, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 34, City : Chicago, State : IL Country : United States, Occupation : Technology analyst, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

[SM]

Why complain now, what the gentleman wrote about affirmative action is true, it benefits the white woman for every job and career much more. You complain you are a minority? why? Seems to me that your part of the US is predominantly white, why do you complain?

User Detail :  

Name : SM, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Carribean, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 34, City : Miami, State : FL Country : United States, Occupation : private, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 

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