Australia’s southeastern state of Victoria may soon encourage so-called “positive” discrimination against white males, according to Australia’s Herald-Sun:
DISCRIMINATION against dominant white males will soon be encouraged in a bid to boost the status of women, the disabled and cultural and religious minorities.
Such positive discrimination — treating people differently in order to obtain equality for marginalised groups — is set to be legalised under planned changes to the Equal Opportunity Act foreshadowed last week by state Attorney-General Rob Hulls.
[...]
Equal Opportunity Commission CEO Dr Helen Szoke said males had “been the big success story in business and goods and services”.
“Clearly, they will have their position changed because they will be competing in a different way with these people who have been traditionally marginalised,” she said.
“Let’s open it up so everyone can have a fair go.”
[...]
At present, individuals or bodies wanting to single out any race or gender for special treatment must gain an exemption from [the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal].
Companies and public bodies accused of discrimination can only be held to account after a complaint has been made.
But the proposed changes go much further, allowing the commission to inquire into discrimination, seize documents and search and enter premises after attempts to bring about change have failed.
Businesses and individuals would be required to change their ways even if a complaint had not been received.
While such an idea may seem foreign, discrimination against whites and males in the United States has been legal for quite some time under the government-sanctioned racial and gender preference system known as “affirmative action.”
Of course, even if you support the idea in theory, the election of Barack Obama to the presidency makes such a concept seem antiquated. Nevertheless, because of the color of their skin, affirmative action assumes that Barack Obama’s children are more disadvantaged than, say, those of a white welfare recipient living in Appalachia. As a result, under affirmative action, Malia and Natasha Obama will always be favored over the children of a white welfare recipient.
Race is an increasingly poor proxy for socioeconomic status. It’s time to end affirmative action, because if we want a society that doesn’t discriminate, we won’t get there by writing discrimination into the law.
