Supreme Court backs New Haven Firefighters

[DrPhil]

Originally Posted by Munchkin03

There could also be the fact that rejected whites may have the means and wherewithal to hire an attorney or find a private attorney willing to represent them pro bono, where a rejected minority may not be able to find the same and may rely on non-profits, which is just another version of white privilege.

On the other hand, I think a lower percentage of highly qualified minorities, especially those of an affluent background, are rejected from certain things. It's said that affirmative action benefits well-to-do minorities most of all; this clearly doesn't stand in the firefighter case, but it's an interesting angle.

These are all good points you're making.

It's difficult to know what stands in the firefighter case. I don't think we know very much about it. Much of what I'm typing has to do with the history of discrimination in this country and only a shmidget of what I know about the case. UGA said the firefighters were self-selecting. That makes sense, but I wonder if it's that straight forward. Hiring and promotions usually aren't because people often get a *nudge* from those who want them in those positions.

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by DrPhil

It's difficult to know what stands in the firefighter case. I don't think we know very much about it. Much of what I'm typing has to do with the history of discrimination in this country and only a shmidget of what I know about the case. UGA said the firefighters were self-selecting. That makes sense, but I wonder if it's that straight forward. Hiring and promotions usually aren't because people often get a *nudge* from those who want them in those positions.

I was making the assumption that the men were predominantly working-class; I would go on to imagine that the amount of minority firefighters from affluent backgrounds is almost nil. Thus, the New Haven firefighters may not have benefited from the type of AA that benefits well-to-do minorities.

But it's probably not the best thing to pre-judge or assume anything these days.