Why does discrimination still exist

[woodmally]

I was just wondering why left wing organisations regularly attack the far right for discrimination yet you only need a cursory glance at their own structure to see discriminiation in the ranks.

 

For example they will all have a womans officer, a lesbian and gay officer and a black and ethnic officer. Why should one group have more representation than another group. Isnt it about time these organisations get their own house in order. They will then be in a better position to attack the facists.

[Chris_Sleeps]

Which left-wing organisations have these 'officers'?

[woodmally]

Which left-wing organisations have these 'officers'?

 

The labour party does when they elect the NEC. Unison (my union) does to name two examples. If you look at every left wing organisations structure they will have these officers. The term is positive discrimination. As if that makes it ok to discriminate.

[Chris_Sleeps]

So who is the current lesbian and gay officer in the Labour Party?

 

I can't find it.

 

Keith Vaz is on the NEC for the Black Socialist Society. I'll support you there.

[Mister M]

I guess positive discrimination exists to compensate for the discrimination in wider society.

 

I know it's not exactly the same thing but about 13 years ago I got a job based on a GOQ basis (Genuine Occupational Qualification) - that is, the post advertised was for males only. That was an example of positive discrimination.

 

The union I belong to has LGBT officers because there is discrimination of Lesbian, Gay, bisexual, and Transgendered people in workplaces. I don't see anything wrong with that as such.

 

Now if your saying that it's not fair that people who are white straight and not disabled are more advantaged than others then that is another matter....

[Powerage]

In my opinion giving people positive discrimination is basically screaming out for everyone to hear that these people are not the norm!

 

Just let everyone be treated the same and then maybe discrimination will become a thing of the past as no one will be pointed out as different.

[boyfriday]

In my opinion giving people positive discrimination is basically screaming out for everyone to hear that these people are not the norm!

 

Just let everyone be treated the same and then maybe discrimination will become a thing of the past as no one will be pointed out as different.

 

That's a laudable request Powerage, but sadly everyone isn't treated the same and highlighting the prejudices that exist (believe me, we all have them) reinforces how we should treat everyone fairly or facilitate different routes of access so everyone gets a fair crack of the whip.

[dosxuk]

These positions do not exist for discrimination reasons, they're there for representation. If you have a board which is formed virtually completely of middle aged, white, middle class men, they are not going to have a complete understanding of the entire workforce's experiences. By appointing these other positions for people who are normally underrepresented it allows those making decisions on the behalf of others to gain a wider range of experiences and suggestions.

 

This quote is from the link in the OP of the "Ten Myths" thread.

 

"I used to hate working there," Jim Brinklow told me, as we sat in his car at what was once the entrance to Ford's paint, trim and assembly plant in Dagenham. "But it breaks my heart to see it gone." During the 80s, Brinklow, a white east Londoner, worked on the assembly line at Ford, where he was a convenor for his trade union branch. While Dagenham, where most Ford workers lived, was a largely white area, many black and Asian workers from elsewhere in east London also had jobs at the factory. Most of them worked alongside Jim on the assembly line – regarded as the worst job at Ford – and found that they were blocked from taking better-paid jobs elsewhere on the site. "When I started at the plant," said Jim, "there was a lot of nastiness. Lots of racist graffiti on the toilet walls." The far right was also active: during the 80s, BNP member Tony Lecomber – the convicted bomber who would later become Griffin's head of group development – was employed as a foreman at the plant.

 

Brinklow and his fellow workers took a stand. "Two foremen were distributing a racist leaflet. So we went on strike, we stopped the production line. We said to the company, something's radically wrong here when you have two foremen distributing stuff like that. As a result Ford set up an equal-opportunities committee. We insisted on monthly meetings. They began advertising jobs in the local press, the black press. They set up a prayer room for Muslims. Then black Christians began to complain: 'What about us, we want a prayer room.' They got one."

 

This is what anti-racism looks like. Equal opportunities are not handed down from on high by Westminster bureaucrats; they have been fought for by ordinary men and women. Even at its peak, the BNP never spoke for anywhere near the majority of working-class white people – in Dagenham, or anywhere else.

 

If situations were reversed, and 99% of the power was held by women, would you object to the formation of a men's officer position in order to ensure that when they made decisions there was an opportunity for male opinions to be heard?

[gnvqsos]

I was just wondering why left wing organisations regularly attack the far right for discrimination yet you only need a cursory glance at their own structure to see discriminiation in the ranks.

 

For example they will all have a womans officer, a lesbian and gay officer and a black and ethnic officer. Why should one group have more representation than another group. Isnt it about time these organisations get their own house in order. They will then be in a better position to attack the facists.

 

there is nothing wrong with discrimination-you clearly do not understand the term in its broad sense.many people have discriminating taste in music food etc.,but this is not reprehensible.

[woodmally]

These positions do not exist for discrimination reasons, they're there for representation. If you have a board which is formed virtually completely of middle aged, white, middle class men, they are not going to have a complete understanding of the entire workforce's experiences. By appointing these other positions for people who are normally underrepresented it allows those making decisions on the behalf of others to gain a wider range of experiences and suggestions.

 

This quote is from the link in the OP of the "Ten Myths" thread.

 

 

 

If situations were reversed, and 99% of the power was held by women, would you object to the formation of a men's officer position in order to ensure that when they made decisions there was an opportunity for male opinions to be heard?

 

Yes I would object because I have a beleif that is quite alien to the left and that is everyone should be treat equal. why in this century do we need a black officer a womans officer and a lesbian gay officer. I at work am managed by a woman and work with a muslim and a gay person. The name I use to describe them is "People" why should anyone be discriminated against. We are all human beings on this planet and should be treat as such.