Some people have been doing that and it has delivered results -- just not fast enough or on a large enough scale
I lived in Las Vegas 1963-1968.
It was a totally segregated town -- all blacks lived in the separate City of North Las Vegas.
Blacks were not allowed to eat, drink or gamble in the casinos nor stay in the hotels.
Sammy Davis, likely, was the most famous black entertainer (of that era) appearing in hotels on the strip -- he would sell out the showroom, but he couldn't stay in the hotel.
What changed the situation wasn't Civil Rights, per se -- rather it was Howard Hughes buying multiple hotels/casinos. Integration was more of an idea whose time had come (to Las Vegas). Before Hughes, the casinos were run by the mob and they catered to gamblers -- rooms, meals, shows, drinks were all comped. When Hughes entered the marketplace, each cost center was put on a profit basis. The profit motive was the driving force that facilitated the idea whose time had come.
I think that rebuilding the devastation and despair of US inner cities is an idea whose time has come! The politicians have failed! We need a different solution! We can put men on the moon and a computer in a watch -- why can't we fix this?
Who can fix this?
Howard Hughes did change the foundation, unless I am misinformed and he only let Sammy Davis and no other non-whites stay in his hotels. The foundation is changed by people saying "**** you! This isn't right."
Change came, but it didn't happen over night. The politics of Las Vegas and Nevada changed. In re: "Hughes Sammy Davis and no other non-whites stay in his hotels" I never heard anything like that -- I think you are misinformed. We left Las Vegas in 1968 for Chicago -- and that, in its own way, was more segregated.
I agree that firms should hire the best people for the job without regard to race, age, sex etc.
However, I also think that there are real inequities in society that need to be addressed, and that in far too many cases people who say what you said (and what I agree with) pretend those inequities don't exist or are opposed to every single idea for addressing them.
So I think that if one rejects one idea, then there is some burden on the rejector to suggest an alternative.
The alternative I suggest is to focus on economic inequality rather than racial/gender/etc inequality, and use mildly redistributionist policies to address those inequities. By "mildly redistributionist" I mean taxing the rich at a higher marginal rate than the middle class and poor, and using that money to support things like the earned income tax credit and education and health care for the poor. In other words, I support the types of policies that the mainstream Democratic party supports, and that the Republican party is constantly trying to eliminate.
People here are so funny, or stupid, or just want to be political baiters.
EDUCATION!!! How about Jessy and his pals spend their efforts on making sure inner city kids can actually read when they get out of high-school. Maybe, THEN they will be qualified for these jobs!
FAMILY!!! How about getting black households to have both parents? This is a huge issue in the development of a child.
But no, let's look at things that DON"T play a factor in this at all. Redistribute? REALLY!! How much more racial can you get then to tell a race they are too unqualified for the job, so we have to force people to give it to you!!!
The rich pay over 90% of all taxes already, how much more do you want them to pay?
Republicans are not trying to eliminate opportunity, but the un-fair practice of taking from one person and giving it to another for no other reason than politics.
1) rebuild family units
2) educate the youth
And you will give most the tools they need to succeed!!
Edit: it looks like the answer is 4 out of 32, or 12%. Just about perfect fit for the US population as a whole. Now we just need 6-8 Latino coaches and an Asian coach or two.
I take issue with this wording. To me, saying "perfect fit for the US population" implies that there is a perfect number to be had. Consider the game of roulette. There are 38 numbers. Over a very long time they will will statistically average out to the same percentage, about 2.6%, but if you take any 38 consecutive results from it would statistically unlikely to have each number represented just once. I'd have worded it as "4 out of 32 is in line with a statistical average" but I don't think we should in any way force this specific average by assuming it's a perfect ratio for all isolated measurements.
Change came, but it didn't happen over night. The politics of Las Vegas and Nevada changed. In re: "Hughes Sammy Davis and no other non-whites stay in his hotels" I never heard anything like that -- I think you are misinformed. We left Las Vegas in 1968 for Chicago -- and that, in its own way, was more segregated.
So you are saying that Sammy Davis was just the exception to the rule but Hughes wasn't trying to put an end to all segregation?
The NFL has the Rooney Rule that mandates a team must interview at least one minority for a head coach position. Can anyone explain why the league has mostly minority players yet only a few minority head coaches? It all starts with opportunity.
Most coaches have a good mind for the game but lacked the physical ability to be a successful player, and need the work. Black players with a good mind for the game are more often than not physically gifted and have successful NFL and end up wealthy and don't need to coach.
This isn't unique to sports. Which is where the saying 'those that can't do (or do successfully), teach' comes from.
And to all the people spouting about candidates who can do the "best job" vs. "flavor" or skin color... Take a step back and consider how we even define "best job". I would argue if a company at the senior level, doesn't include the perspective that comes with cultural diversity in their definition of "doing their best job" then they're definition is too shallow and sucks. And it might partially (only partially) explain how we've arrived at a place in history where so many non-white cultures have ended up on the losing end of these companies' success and work practices.
I am sorry, but are you saying that physics and engineering are different based on a person's culture or skin color?
Of course, I know that you aren't. I also agree with you that there are certainly some jobs where diversity in cultural understanding is a very valid job criteria. But, your contention that this is somehow a component in every job is absurd and inaccurate.
The size of a resistor needed in a circuit or the most efficient way to sort an array is the exact same regardless of whether you are a third generation Harvard engineer or a self taught immigrant from Rwanda. Nature and thus science and engineering care nothing for humanity or its many foibles.
Jackson's comments might have been more applicable if he hadn't picked out engineering driven companies as his current scapegoats, but he didn't. Which again, calls into question his reasons for picking companies where cultural diversity isn't a major factor for his emphasis.
The problem of minority involvement in STEM fields is much, much deeper than the executives in a few of the companies. To see that all you have to do is look at he make up of STEM fields in the universities around the world.
Change came, but it didn't happen over night. The politics of Las Vegas and Nevada changed. In re: "Hughes Sammy Davis and no other non-whites stay in his hotels" I never heard anything like that -- I think you are misinformed. We left Las Vegas in 1968 for Chicago -- and that, in its own way, was more segregated.
So you are saying that Sammy Davis was just the exception to the rule but Hughes wasn't trying to put an end to all segregation?
Not saying that at all! I never heard any story about Sammy Davis being the only non-white that Hughes allowed to stay in his hotels. I don't believe Hughes really cared about ending segregation -- rather he was more interested in maximizing his investments. I think that Hughes running the hotels and casinos with a legal profit motive * disrupted the whole Nevada establishment. The disruption facilitated desegregation.
* Most people thought the mob made profits from their casinos by skimming cash in the counting rooms -- so they didn't have to pay any taxes. Others, suggested that just the opposite was true -- they would dump the proceeds from prostitution, drugs, illegal gambling into the casinos to make them legal -- then pay the taxes.
FWIW, there were quite a few rich non-white high-rollers (Asians and MiddleEasterners) who were treated like royalty by the casinos -- I assume they were allowed to stay in the hotels.
I don't understand why schools don't teach programming beginning in junior high school if not earlier. Many of the skills of programming are highly transferable especially to mathematics.
That is simple because the US government has done more to destroy practical and useful education in this country in the last couple of decades than most people realize.
Put simply, programming isn't on the standardized tests that determine if teachers and administrators keep their jobs. Thus, it isn't going to be taught.
I always found it interesting that of the amazing Japanese educational system the people in charge in the US chose the one thing that was pretty universally despised by students and teachers alike, standardized testing.
If you are a conspiracy theorist, it begs the question of why the top 1% in this country are pushing such educational "reforms" so hard? Especially when you consider that these reforms only apply to the public schools which their kids don't attend?
People here are so funny, or stupid, or just want to be political baiters.
EDUCATION!!! How about Jessy and his pals spend their efforts on making sure inner city kids can actually read when they get out of high-school. Maybe, THEN they will be qualified for these jobs!
FAMILY!!! How about getting black households to have both parents? This is a huge issue in the development of a child.
But no, let's look at things that DON"T play a factor in this at all. Redistribute? REALLY!! How much more racial can you get then to tell a race they are too unqualified for the job, so we have to force people to give it to you!!!
The rich pay over 90% of all taxes already, how much more do you want them to pay?
Republicans are not trying to eliminate opportunity, but the un-fair practice of taking from one person and giving it to another for no other reason than politics.
1) rebuild family units
2) educate the youth
And you will give most the tools they need to succeed!!
Yes we know what needs to be done but how to go about it. I read a article in the NYT titled 'a tale of 2 schools', both public schools and both received the same funding from the state. One was on the Upper East Side of Manhattan that the children of rich parents attended, and a school in a bad part of Brooklyn.
The parents of the UES school held fund raisers and were able to provide their school with the same resources as the best private schools meanwhile the school in Brooklyn had bake sales and we're only able to raise a few hundred dollars. So how can we fix that inequality?
Not saying that at all! I never heard any story about Sammy Davis being the only non-white that Hughes allowed to stay in his hotels.
I wrote, "Howard Hughes did change the foundation, unless I am misinformed and he only let Sammy Davis and no other non-whites stay in his hotels." to which you replied, "I never heard anything like that -- I think you are misinformed."
Perhaps I didn't word it clearly enough. I was saying I've never Hughes only just allowing Sammy Davis junior to stay in his hotels therefore he was putting an end to segregation in his hotels which caused others to follow suit thus changing the rotten foundation.
I'm not following. I assume by face you mean the pigmentation of your skin but I'm not following your argument if you actually believe your skin colour the cause for bigotry in society. If someone was scared by how you look or how you speak because it represents a "race" they feared the problem is clearly with that person and the events that lead to that irrational belief. The same goes for any and all bigoted thoughts one might have.
I didn't say it was a cause, but it is a factor, one I can clearly see as soon as I walk into the office.
We need to stop dumbing down the education of the students.... why underestimate them. They aren't stupid. When they want something they go for it. If it was a sport or some sort of singing and entertainment black people would be spending all their free time trying to be the best. Math and science??? eh... not so much. It's all about priorities. There is only room for a few stars. What happens if you aren't one?!
As a Black man, father of three (all of the same mother, from whom I am currently divorced) I am really saddened by this thread, but I am not surprised. I have found that there are a lot intellectuals who are not enlightened, or maybe I just disagree with them. Not that asking for diversity on boards and in upper management is a bad, thing, it isn't. We are mostly Americans and can ask anyone for anything we want. I'm not sure that such a move would make that much of a difference anyway, by the time a Black person in the corporate world raises that high up the ranks, they are so far removed from my realty, that they may as well be Chinese for all the good it would do.
It would be cool if people read the article and just said "Okay." But to mention Jesse Jackson in certain communities is like tossing gasoline on the flames of racial hatred at the worst and Afrophobia at the least. It is easy for someone to hide behind a 'best man for the job' ideology, but anyone who has ever set foot in the corporate world knows that such is not hardly true in hiring or advancing up the corporate ladder. I' sure you know people who are in positions they are totally inadequate for and quite white about it.
The sad thing is that over the last 50 years, as America led the world in this technical ascent, they pretty much locked us out of it. Sure there is the occasional Neil deGrasse-Tyson to shake the pillars of the corporate world, but for the most part, public education is pretty punitive to Black people, especially males. Some people think it is a series of cultural issues that society at large has no ownership in. Things like not prioritizing education, being born in a single parent household, or some other metric that makes Black people look like the second class citizens we get treated as. Those things may be a factor, but they are not nearly the factor that my face is.
When people see us, whether we are in a suit and tie, or khakis and polo, they tend to think us less intellectually capable than our white counterparts, but more likely to steal and commit other crimes, than our white counterparts. And they think these things regardless of their own race, talk about built in bias! Sure, there will always be some who are able to break through those biases in the right people, but I an tell you first hand, the unfairness of it does wear on you.
Unlike Alabamian Tim Cook, I don't have the wiggle room to use less than perfect grammar. Having grown up in Chicago, it's like I had to learn a new language. Not that I am the grammatically incorrect type mind you, its that I can be kind of scary if I speak with too much Black in my voice. Going to work, I had to take on a persona that wasn't mine, because my vernacular, though quite inventive, scared managers I've worked for. So when it came time to advance, I was often considered too risky. That sucked.
Instead of looking at the pool of students over the last 50 years, America decided it would be easer to import than to educate. Because those decisions were made on corporate boards across the nation, we've enjoyed a whole set of extra hurdles that effectively turn away a lot of talent we could be growing. I could give you stats or anecdotes, but I know that it is essentially futile. I've seen that look in your eyes before. I'll show myself out.
Yours are mostly good points.
I believe that most Americans want to resolve this, but are so involved in our everyday lives that we hire the governments/politicians to do this for us. This has not worked -- at least not fast enough. We don't need any more Cabrini-Greens.
What would you do?
I am white upper-middle class -- what would you have me do?
people have to worry less about equality or fairness (everyone's a winner), and opt to fighting for justice.
Agreed. And people should not automatically assume injustice and present their biased perceptions as factual evidence.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOtherGeoff
as i pointed out bvgk's comment is stupid in that shows that people of color can perform at a level of excellence sought by the sporting public, if given a fair shake.
The point is that there are an extremely disproportionate number of non-whites athletes in the NFL and NBA, so using Jesse Jackson's logic, we must automatically assume that there is some kind of racial bias against white men in the NFL and NBA. Unless you want to make the augment that everyone is getting a fair shake and white men are simply inferior when it comes to certain occupations like professional football and basketball, which would be a somewhat biased opinion, wouldn't you think?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOtherGeoff
Jesse isn't arguing for a headcount, Jesse is arguing that it's a biased selection process, and a biased development process. and Bias based purely (or indirectly inferring racial differences) on the color or creed of someone is wrong.
This qoute from his letter certainly sounds like he's talking about head count, "Rainbow PUSH is seeking meetings with tech leaders to address these ZEROES head on." And it's a little presumptuous to automatically assume that a biased selection and/or development process is in place. Unless Jesse Jackson has some specific information that points to it, it is completely comjecture on his part and somewhat irresponsible. Again, if he is implying that there are just as many non-white men and women who are qualified for these jobs but were denied due to biases, we can make the same argument for the lack of white men in the NFL and NBA. Unless you believe that white men just aren't as good at playing football or basketball, which would be a somewhat biased viewpoint in the same way that it would be when speaking about the lack of non-white executives in the tech industry.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOtherGeoff
Jesse's problem [in this forum] is that business is all about getting not the best/perfect/global-maxima, but the most effective solution to a simple problem: making as much money as possible for the least amount of effort. That's the white male capitalist way.
The "white male capitalist way"? Your prejudicial bias is showing. Try the capitalist way. Do you really think for a moment that there would be any significant change in the engine that drives capitalism if more minorities were in executive positions? Please, it would be more of the same. Capitalist greed knows no race, color or gender.
By the way, does Jesse Jackson know that you are speaking on his behalf, explaining and interpreting his thoughts and intentions with such conviction? Do you know the exact intent of everything Jesse Jackson says, or is it merely your interpretation?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheOtherGeoff
Apple is a particularly inviting target as it's a) very white male led, b) espouses a global view on it's impact on society, and c) makes Money like no one else. If Apple's conscious is willing to appease Greenpeace for whales and dolphins and cute little animals, Apple can and should do at least the minimum necessary (at least give Jesse a look at the books on hiring practices within Apple) to address the fact that Apple does want the best person for the job regardless of race/creed/gender/politics/value-system, and the job is X and the corporate values are Y, and here were the candidates, and where they fell short.
And so should we do the same with companies that have very few white men in the ranks? I wonder what Oprah Winfrey's executive staff looks like? It's probably mostly women. Must be something fishy going on there. I demand an investigation!
So Jesse is happy with a token? Microsoft's and Adobe's CEOs aren't exactly "Caucasian", right. It would be wrong to not offer an opportunity to anyone based on race, but you can't demand inclusion if there without relevant contribution. It also assumes any race based appointment would have a race based agenda.
Anyway, look to the POTUS and Cosmos 2014 presenter. Just fabulous.
Not saying that at all! I never heard any story about Sammy Davis being the only non-white that Hughes allowed to stay in his hotels.
I wrote, "Howard Hughes did change the foundation, unless I am misinformed and he only let Sammy Davis and no other non-whites stay in his hotels." to which you replied, "I never heard anything like that -- I think you are misinformed."
Perhaps I didn't word it clearly enough. I was saying I've never Hughes only just allowing Sammy Davis junior to stay in his hotels therefore he was putting an end to segregation in his hotels which caused others to follow suit thus changing the rotten foundation.
In that case we are in agreement – that is exactly the point I was trying to make!
I find that I try to be very careful when discussing race or religion -- especially on a forum like this.
I am so careful when choosing my words that I failed to type them correctly.
Edit:
Siri: type a reply to what's-his-name… You know what I want to say!
Comments
Change came, but it didn't happen over night. The politics of Las Vegas and Nevada changed. In re: "Hughes Sammy Davis and no other non-whites stay in his hotels" I never heard anything like that -- I think you are misinformed. We left Las Vegas in 1968 for Chicago -- and that, in its own way, was more segregated.
I agree that firms should hire the best people for the job without regard to race, age, sex etc.
However, I also think that there are real inequities in society that need to be addressed, and that in far too many cases people who say what you said (and what I agree with) pretend those inequities don't exist or are opposed to every single idea for addressing them.
So I think that if one rejects one idea, then there is some burden on the rejector to suggest an alternative.
The alternative I suggest is to focus on economic inequality rather than racial/gender/etc inequality, and use mildly redistributionist policies to address those inequities. By "mildly redistributionist" I mean taxing the rich at a higher marginal rate than the middle class and poor, and using that money to support things like the earned income tax credit and education and health care for the poor. In other words, I support the types of policies that the mainstream Democratic party supports, and that the Republican party is constantly trying to eliminate.
People here are so funny, or stupid, or just want to be political baiters.
EDUCATION!!! How about Jessy and his pals spend their efforts on making sure inner city kids can actually read when they get out of high-school. Maybe, THEN they will be qualified for these jobs!
FAMILY!!! How about getting black households to have both parents? This is a huge issue in the development of a child.
But no, let's look at things that DON"T play a factor in this at all. Redistribute? REALLY!! How much more racial can you get then to tell a race they are too unqualified for the job, so we have to force people to give it to you!!!
The rich pay over 90% of all taxes already, how much more do you want them to pay?
Republicans are not trying to eliminate opportunity, but the un-fair practice of taking from one person and giving it to another for no other reason than politics.
1) rebuild family units
2) educate the youth
And you will give most the tools they need to succeed!!
I take issue with this wording. To me, saying "perfect fit for the US population" implies that there is a perfect number to be had. Consider the game of roulette. There are 38 numbers. Over a very long time they will will statistically average out to the same percentage, about 2.6%, but if you take any 38 consecutive results from it would statistically unlikely to have each number represented just once. I'd have worded it as "4 out of 32 is in line with a statistical average" but I don't think we should in any way force this specific average by assuming it's a perfect ratio for all isolated measurements.
So you are saying that Sammy Davis was just the exception to the rule but Hughes wasn't trying to put an end to all segregation?
Most coaches have a good mind for the game but lacked the physical ability to be a successful player, and need the work. Black players with a good mind for the game are more often than not physically gifted and have successful NFL and end up wealthy and don't need to coach.
This isn't unique to sports. Which is where the saying 'those that can't do (or do successfully), teach' comes from.
And to all the people spouting about candidates who can do the "best job" vs. "flavor" or skin color... Take a step back and consider how we even define "best job". I would argue if a company at the senior level, doesn't include the perspective that comes with cultural diversity in their definition of "doing their best job" then they're definition is too shallow and sucks. And it might partially (only partially) explain how we've arrived at a place in history where so many non-white cultures have ended up on the losing end of these companies' success and work practices.
I am sorry, but are you saying that physics and engineering are different based on a person's culture or skin color?
Of course, I know that you aren't. I also agree with you that there are certainly some jobs where diversity in cultural understanding is a very valid job criteria. But, your contention that this is somehow a component in every job is absurd and inaccurate.
The size of a resistor needed in a circuit or the most efficient way to sort an array is the exact same regardless of whether you are a third generation Harvard engineer or a self taught immigrant from Rwanda. Nature and thus science and engineering care nothing for humanity or its many foibles.
Jackson's comments might have been more applicable if he hadn't picked out engineering driven companies as his current scapegoats, but he didn't. Which again, calls into question his reasons for picking companies where cultural diversity isn't a major factor for his emphasis.
The problem of minority involvement in STEM fields is much, much deeper than the executives in a few of the companies. To see that all you have to do is look at he make up of STEM fields in the universities around the world.
Not saying that at all! I never heard any story about Sammy Davis being the only non-white that Hughes allowed to stay in his hotels. I don't believe Hughes really cared about ending segregation -- rather he was more interested in maximizing his investments. I think that Hughes running the hotels and casinos with a legal profit motive * disrupted the whole Nevada establishment. The disruption facilitated desegregation.
* Most people thought the mob made profits from their casinos by skimming cash in the counting rooms -- so they didn't have to pay any taxes. Others, suggested that just the opposite was true -- they would dump the proceeds from prostitution, drugs, illegal gambling into the casinos to make them legal -- then pay the taxes.
FWIW, there were quite a few rich non-white high-rollers (Asians and MiddleEasterners) who were treated like royalty by the casinos -- I assume they were allowed to stay in the hotels.
I don't understand why schools don't teach programming beginning in junior high school if not earlier. Many of the skills of programming are highly transferable especially to mathematics.
That is simple because the US government has done more to destroy practical and useful education in this country in the last couple of decades than most people realize.
Put simply, programming isn't on the standardized tests that determine if teachers and administrators keep their jobs. Thus, it isn't going to be taught.
I always found it interesting that of the amazing Japanese educational system the people in charge in the US chose the one thing that was pretty universally despised by students and teachers alike, standardized testing.
If you are a conspiracy theorist, it begs the question of why the top 1% in this country are pushing such educational "reforms" so hard? Especially when you consider that these reforms only apply to the public schools which their kids don't attend?
Yes we know what needs to be done but how to go about it. I read a article in the NYT titled 'a tale of 2 schools', both public schools and both received the same funding from the state. One was on the Upper East Side of Manhattan that the children of rich parents attended, and a school in a bad part of Brooklyn.
The parents of the UES school held fund raisers and were able to provide their school with the same resources as the best private schools meanwhile the school in Brooklyn had bake sales and we're only able to raise a few hundred dollars. So how can we fix that inequality?
I wrote, "Howard Hughes did change the foundation, unless I am misinformed and he only let Sammy Davis and no other non-whites stay in his hotels." to which you replied, "I never heard anything like that -- I think you are misinformed."
Perhaps I didn't word it clearly enough. I was saying I've never Hughes only just allowing Sammy Davis junior to stay in his hotels therefore he was putting an end to segregation in his hotels which caused others to follow suit thus changing the rotten foundation.
Go gettem' Jesse! I'm black and I haven't been promoted in over a week at my multibillion dollar media company working in software... It's not fair!
I'm not following. I assume by face you mean the pigmentation of your skin but I'm not following your argument if you actually believe your skin colour the cause for bigotry in society. If someone was scared by how you look or how you speak because it represents a "race" they feared the problem is clearly with that person and the events that lead to that irrational belief. The same goes for any and all bigoted thoughts one might have.
I didn't say it was a cause, but it is a factor, one I can clearly see as soon as I walk into the office.
We need to stop dumbing down the education of the students.... why underestimate them. They aren't stupid. When they want something they go for it. If it was a sport or some sort of singing and entertainment black people would be spending all their free time trying to be the best. Math and science??? eh... not so much. It's all about priorities. There is only room for a few stars. What happens if you aren't one?!
Yours are mostly good points.
I believe that most Americans want to resolve this, but are so involved in our everyday lives that we hire the governments/politicians to do this for us. This has not worked -- at least not fast enough. We don't need any more Cabrini-Greens.
What would you do?
I am white upper-middle class -- what would you have me do?
Did you just say coaching is 100% mental? I know you don't mean to imply minorities can't do the mental aspect of the game.
Why are you comparing to the US pop as a whole?
It's all about opportunity. Right now minorities aren't getting enough opportunities to go on interviews for mgmt positions.
Certainly Chinese and Jewish-Americans are not getting the NFL opportunities.
people have to worry less about equality or fairness (everyone's a winner), and opt to fighting for justice.
Agreed. And people should not automatically assume injustice and present their biased perceptions as factual evidence.
as i pointed out bvgk's comment is stupid in that shows that people of color can perform at a level of excellence sought by the sporting public, if given a fair shake.
The point is that there are an extremely disproportionate number of non-whites athletes in the NFL and NBA, so using Jesse Jackson's logic, we must automatically assume that there is some kind of racial bias against white men in the NFL and NBA. Unless you want to make the augment that everyone is getting a fair shake and white men are simply inferior when it comes to certain occupations like professional football and basketball, which would be a somewhat biased opinion, wouldn't you think?
Jesse isn't arguing for a headcount, Jesse is arguing that it's a biased selection process, and a biased development process. and Bias based purely (or indirectly inferring racial differences) on the color or creed of someone is wrong.
This qoute from his letter certainly sounds like he's talking about head count, "Rainbow PUSH is seeking meetings with tech leaders to address these ZEROES head on." And it's a little presumptuous to automatically assume that a biased selection and/or development process is in place. Unless Jesse Jackson has some specific information that points to it, it is completely comjecture on his part and somewhat irresponsible. Again, if he is implying that there are just as many non-white men and women who are qualified for these jobs but were denied due to biases, we can make the same argument for the lack of white men in the NFL and NBA. Unless you believe that white men just aren't as good at playing football or basketball, which would be a somewhat biased viewpoint in the same way that it would be when speaking about the lack of non-white executives in the tech industry.
Jesse's problem [in this forum] is that business is all about getting not the best/perfect/global-maxima, but the most effective solution to a simple problem: making as much money as possible for the least amount of effort. That's the white male capitalist way.
The "white male capitalist way"? Your prejudicial bias is showing. Try the capitalist way. Do you really think for a moment that there would be any significant change in the engine that drives capitalism if more minorities were in executive positions? Please, it would be more of the same. Capitalist greed knows no race, color or gender.
By the way, does Jesse Jackson know that you are speaking on his behalf, explaining and interpreting his thoughts and intentions with such conviction? Do you know the exact intent of everything Jesse Jackson says, or is it merely your interpretation?
Apple is a particularly inviting target as it's a) very white male led, b) espouses a global view on it's impact on society, and c) makes Money like no one else. If Apple's conscious is willing to appease Greenpeace for whales and dolphins and cute little animals, Apple can and should do at least the minimum necessary (at least give Jesse a look at the books on hiring practices within Apple) to address the fact that Apple does want the best person for the job regardless of race/creed/gender/politics/value-system, and the job is X and the corporate values are Y, and here were the candidates, and where they fell short.
And so should we do the same with companies that have very few white men in the ranks? I wonder what Oprah Winfrey's executive staff looks like? It's probably mostly women. Must be something fishy going on there. I demand an investigation!
I'd say Marv Levy was a pretty good coach. Not surprising but many of the owners are Jewish, and that's the best NFL opportunity there is.
Anyway, look to the POTUS and Cosmos 2014 presenter. Just fabulous.
In that case we are in agreement – that is exactly the point I was trying to make!
I find that I try to be very careful when discussing race or religion -- especially on a forum like this.
I am so careful when choosing my words that I failed to type them correctly.
Edit:
Siri: type a reply to what's-his-name… You know what I want to say!
A tech forum, no less. This forum does like to go off on tangents.