Women and Minorities in My Lifetime

When I was growing up, women and minorities were relegated to second-class education and jobs, at best.  Not that everything has changed since then but they have improved dramatically.

Quite frankly, I experienced reverse discrimination in my career in an effort to correct those wrongs and have at time resented it, having to see people of lesser qualifications get positions that I was more qualified for because of something I was not party to.  At times like that it was hard for me, and people in the same position, to see the worth of these actions when it negatively affected oneself.

But looking back, I have to say that it seems to have been.  Even with the obvious failings it has been.  The obvious positive contributions that women and minorities have added to society and the world are immeasurable.  And allowing people to grow to their potential is just the right damned thing.  And if others argue that it is not enough, while I tend to agree and understand, I challenge them this way: who in the 1960’s realistically thought we would have had a minority president and have had a women garner the majority of votes for president.  I certainly would have been surprised at that prediction.

I mean I should not have had to been penalized and more than women and minorities in previous generations were penalized.  It was equally wrong.  It is a sacrifice that will probably be lost in history and, while it may seem self-serving in my case, I think it is a damned shame.  And more of a shame, to bring it up will seem to be to diminish the accomplishments of women and minorities.  It is not.  It is merely to acknowledge that the loss of accomplishments of those who were sacrificed along the way.

 

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