7 March 2001
Last year: Naturally, that didn't make any sense to those of you who aren't participating.
Yeah, I'm all sweetness and light, I am. Just ask anyone.
Ask Random, with whom I had an actual argument yesterday because he was answering a question I wasn't asking. Ask my supervisor, at whom I snapped when he wandered off the topic at hand to consider a logic problem that had already been solved. Ask the receptionist at the hospital, at whom I glared at the delay when I went to pick up my x-rays. Ask Braz, with whom I got snippy on the subject of unanswered e-mail and a precise definition of the word "busy." Ask Matt, who had to sit across the table from me at dinner and try to make conversation with the apathy that I couldn't seem to wipe off my face.
Some days, I'm just a joy.
And the stupid thing was, I wasn't even really in a bad mood. Just kindof tired and frazzled.
My most sincere and public apologies to everyone who had the misfortune of crossing my path yesterday.
The radio station this morning was talking about an article in a news magazine (I thought it was Newsweek, but I can't find it on their website) about discrimination against balding men.
Please.
All right, everyone, listen up. Discrimination is a real and serious issue. I don't want to say it's not, or belittle the pain of anyone who's actually been discriminated against. But my personal belief is that there is far less discrimination going on than is actually believed.
First of all, let's get one thing straight. Preference is not discrimination, and I want you all to stop confusing them. Discrimination is a knee-jerk judgement that renders all other factors of consideration moot, or which affects issues on which they shouldn't have any bearing. Preference, on the other hand, merely adds (or subtracts) weight to other factors. Keep it straight. For instance: I have a romantic preference for tall men with long hair. That does not mean I discriminate against short, short-haired men: I do not automatically dismiss short or short-haired men out of hand. Those factors merely count against them in my consideration. Besides, romantically speaking, appearance is a valid consideration. It would be discrimination if I hired a tall, long-haired programmer over a short, short-haired programmer, because appearance has nothing to do with the job.
I, myself, am a short overweight female - three groups that are often cited as discriminated against. I hate to disappoint, but I've never felt discriminated against. Not once. I've never thought that any of those traits has lost me a job for which I was otherwise qualified. I've never had my intelligence underestimated and thought that one or more of those factors were responsible. I have never noticed anyone treating me poorly who was not also treating everyone else just as poorly.
No, I take that back. I did encounter discrimination once: one of my professors at William and Mary once told the class I was in that he didn't think women had the capacity for mathematics. But even that didn't really qualify as discrimination, merely rank prejudice. He wasn't acting on that prejudice. He wasn't refusing to teach women or grading female students differently.
Now, either I have been astonishingly lucky in encountering the most polite and non-judgmental people in the world (which I think extremely unlikely); or I am altogether clueless (a possibility, I admit, but I don't think I'd have gone this long and only ever noticed it the once); or there is some exaggeration going on.
A lot of my friends will tell you that on certain issues - and prejudice is one of them - I am astonishingly naive and idealistic. Or at least overly optimistic. I believe in dealing with people based on whatever abilities apply to the current situation, and I expect to be treated the same way. I understand that one is occasionally overcome by one's personal prejudices - but I try to fight mine, and I expect others to fight theirs. I know this is optimistic of me, but my point is this: Why should I be irrational just because so many others are?
Once again, I do want to stress that I'm not dismissing discrimination as an issue. It's a little like date rape in this: The real thing is terribly serious, but its impact has been lessened by so many people using the word to describe significantly lesser crimes. Someone who has had their trust horribly abused should not be classified with someone who regretted their actions in the morning. Likewise, someone who has had their skills denigrated or even completely ignored because of a matter of appearance which has no bearing on the situation should not have to be classified with someone who is whining because a matter of preference, all other things being equal, weighed against them.
Discrimination against baldness??? Bah. You people should be ashamed of yourselves.
Word of the Day:
forbear - ancestor; precursor (usually used in the plural)
Currently Reading:
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Current Projects:
- nothing until I know what's up with my finger