Supreme Court decides Ricci Case

A colleague in Kansas, head of the city personnel and human resources department, was frustrated in the same way though he graduated from college Magna Cum Laude and was imminently qualified for the position he held. But he never felt accepted as an equal but was painfully aware that he was seen as the 'essential black man' to balance an otherwise too white work force.

Why not take down the last of the stigma so that those who earn and merit their status in life can be appreciated for the fact that they did?

It won't happen until we take Affirmative Action out of the game plan.

Foxfyre wrote:

It won't happen until we take Affirmative Action out of the game plan.

Well, in effect, you're just saying that bigots and racists can't change, so we should dump affirmative action in order to accommodate their bigotry and racism. But why should we make that kind of accommodation? After all, they're bigots and racists. Screw them!

What I dont understand about the whole thing is why some people have claimed the test was flawed, or that is was somehow racist.

I have never understood how a test of knowledge can be racist in any way.
If everyone that took the test were firefighters, then they should all have had the same knowledge.

The test was based on knowledge of the job, how to approach different situations, how to command fire scenes, knowledge of equipment and policies, and basic firefighting knowledge.
So how could such a test be racist in anyway?

Why should you care what the bigots, kind-hearted or otherwise, think? If Barney the Bigot is convinced that his co-worker Mary the Minority got her job through affirmative action, why should that matter? And if there's any accommodation to be made, why not force Barney to change his attitude rather than change the affirmative action program?

The so called quota system is wrong, especially in public service positions. It hurts both parties and puts the public at risk.

There is no denying that only the most qualified police, fireman, teacher be hired.

Only a racist would think otherwise.

I care because it makes a difference to the people who are thus discriminated against and marginalized because of the perceptions about them.

The so called quota system is wrong, especially in public service positions. It hurts both parties and puts the public at risk.

The Constitution grants power to Congress to enact laws to remedy discrimination. The law clearly and unambiguously requires employers to consider the disparate impact that hiring or promotion methods may have on minorities. Both the city and the court of appeals applied the law as written. The ultra-conservative wing of the Supreme Court, however, placed adherence to its own ideology above the law. Nothing new there.

When all is said and done, 21 federal judges considered the question presented. 11 of them (including Sotomayor) ruled one way; 10 of them ruled the other way. The final outcome of this case will not affect Sotomayor's nomination. It will, however, give vast numbers of minorities more reason to distrust and vote against conservative Republicans who clobber them at every opportunity.

Your opinion is noted. My opinion is that your opinion is the one that is bigoted and racist even though I believe you do not intend for it to be.

In my opinion we have long passed the point at which affirmative action delivers any net benefit to our society or even to the groups it purports to help. The process itself creates more antagonism than it alleviates, and encourages attitudes that do more harm than good for its supposed beneficiaries.