In regards to Matt Bramanti's Oct. 28 column, "Diversity doesn't matter," he states the following: "I'm a white guy. Knowing that, what can you figure out about me?" What I can figure out about you is this: you have never been discriminated against. Neither have I. However, the idea behind the affirmative action law was that it protects people from the closed-minded racism that existed in the United States at the time the law was written. Here's a shocker, bigotry still exists, and it will continue to exist.
This is a sad fact to be sure. One would think that in this enlightened period in human history we could move beyond such intolerance. But we have not. The common complaint is that affirmative action puts less qualified people into a job simply because of the fact that they possess minority status. The truth of the matter is that affirmative action protects all workers, white and black.
What happens when a factory manager hires a white man who is less qualified than a black man competing for the same job simply because he is white? In such a case, affirmative action protects everyone working at the factory. In conclusion, instead of speaking of how neutral diversity is, try looking at the matter from someone else's perspective - a little empathy goes a long way.
David EscobalesjuniorFremantle, AustraliaOct. 29
