In regards to the readings assigned last week, I found it interesting that we started with an article on "White Privilege." I will be quite honest with you... I really don't enjoy discussing or talking about white privilege, at all. As a former orientation leader at UML, I went through "diversity training," during our 2 week training period, and thankfully, we did not discuss "White Privilege," but I heard many stories about it from the year before, and experienced the topic of conversation during a diversity group I was a part of on campus post-orientation. How everyone felt it was either not applicable or designed to make "White people feel bad: it's all their fault." This article sort of dredged up all of those feelings... why is there "White Privilege?" and why is it "our fault?" If you ask me, these views on diversity often come down to one topic: race. I think it is highly unfortunate that there are these supposed privileges in place that denounce the importance of one person's ethnicity over another person's. I'm not trying to deny that they exist, as they definitely do (although I do feel they are a bit exaggerated in this article), but I just think it's unfortunate that they're still around and that "White Privilege" is still a hot topic in regards to diversity.
It particularly bothers me that people still have these preconceived notions of people of different races and ethnicities, and that it's even a blip on the radar regarding any hiring process drives me crazy. If you're qualified to do a job, you should be hired for it, regardless of gender, race, or ethnicity. This brings me to the Omni article, in which it described how the government is getting in its own way regarding being "diverse." It has regulations regarding "Equal Opportunity," however, those regulations put even more emphasis on race and gender in the work-force, and why does that need to be highlighted? I actually had a conversation with one of my cooperating teachers about this. He had a friend who was of Puerto Rican descent who was applying for a job, and they offered him the job over someone that he himself had felt was more qualified. He flat out asked if this was about his ethnicity, or if they thought he was the most qualified for the position. They were honest and admitted that "equal opportunity" had a hand in the hiring process. So, he declined the position.
When I heard the story, I applauded this man for sticking to his beliefs. I would not want to be accepted into a program or given a job because I was a woman, or because I was white. If someone was more qualified to do a job than I was, then they deserve the job more than I do and should be hired, regardless of race, gender, or ethnicity. When you start placing regulations on who can and cannot be hired, you take away the need to be qualified to do a job, and how is that helping the government or company? I guess the young idealist in me wishes race could be taken out of the equation...
