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[Chris Hedemark <chris AT yonderway.com>]

On Monday, December 9, 2002, at 07:07 PM, Diana Duncan wrote:

> The thing about many Republicans is that
> they hide behind statements such as yours to cloak their racism in 
> some sort
> of respectability.

That statement implies two incorrect notions:

1) That I am a Republican
2) That I am racist

If I were one of the many that takes great offense at every insult 
thrown my way, I would probably be crying bloody murder right now.  As 
it stands I'm unsurprised yet disappointed that my comments on the 
issue weren't approached with independent thought.

> If we didn't have some sort of system to reward companies, schools and
> politicos for at least considering minorities, people like Mr. Powell 
> and Ms.
> Rice wouldn't have a chance.

Wrong.  Powell is undoubtedly the best man for the job.  We've seen him 
at work before and he is probably the man with the most integrity in 
the whole of the administration.  I've got a pretty low opinion of 
Rumsfeld and it is no surprise that the two men seem to be at odds with 
each other all the time.

I had never heard of Rice before her appointment with this 
administration but she seems to be extremely intelligent, professional, 
and level headed.  She does not strike me as the type that would be 
hired simply because she is a minority.

Hiring should be done strictly on merit.  If color is still a problem 
for some backwards people (the most blatant examples of which can be 
found in the minority community by the way), then instead of the 
reverse discrimination of affirmative action maybe we should hold all 
initial interviews by phone, and only have in-person interviews at a 
very late stage (if at all).

> As it is, minorities are still underrepresented
> in all aspects of American life, except perhaps in poverty, criminal 
> and
> victim statistics.

It's high time for people to take personal responsibility for their own 
actions (or inactions).  I've been a hiring manager at a company that 
practiced affirmative action and the applicants that I was given under 
that system really were substandard.  Setting the bar lower produced 
applicants that didn't try as hard.  In other companies that were 
smaller and didn't participate in affirmative action, I would see 
minority applicants that would try just as hard as anyone else and were 
truly competitive.  Affirmative action is simply an excuse for people 
to not be their best.  There was a good reason for it years ago, 
perhaps, but it is high time to eliminate reverse discrimination.

Chris Hedemark .. Hillsborough, NC .. http://yonderway.com
Homeland Security begins at home; support your Second Amendment.