FTFA: But the $106,000-a-year affirmative-action officer who declared me guilty of "racial harassment" never spoke to me or examined the book.

Gotta justify yer job no matter the situation.

Affirmative action is bullshiat. MLK Jr. would be spinning in his farking grave at these whiny coonts who think that just because someone is a minority they should be given a free ride.

I could go on but I am le tired and have to finish cleaning up my room.

Crap like this is exactly why I'm a member of the ACLU and continue to send them money.

Maybe he was incredulous because it was the first time the Irish defeated anything.

Also, seriously, I will pay Keith John Sampson money to never, ever write another thing ever again.

SockMonkeyHolocaust: Maybe he was incredulous because it was the first time the Irish defeated anything.

Pistols at dawn, Sir!

/We've defeated sobriety!

SockMonkeyHolocaust: Maybe he was incredulous because it was the first time the Irish defeated anything.

We've killed many pints, my good man.

SockMonkeyHolocaust: Maybe he was incredulous because it was the first time the Irish defeated anything.

they were instrumental in defeating regular bathing schedules

Race Traitor: How the Irish Became White (new window)

The scary thing is, this is how most universities are now a days. Racial discrimination is obtuse and shouldn't be tolerated, but claims against people aren't checked anymore.

It's funny that the university was willing to fire him over a book, yet that bureaucrat won't be fired for not even attempting to do his job. I love the world we live in. Power and money is all that matters- intelligence and reason rarely buy you anything.

/on a side note, Indiana is very racist though, IMO

Suicidal Writer,

What's sad is that so many groups have faced racial and prejudicial treatment in the US; yet, many of these Affirmative Action groups treat only 1 or 2 groups as important.

/not for affirmative action in schools
// simply fixing underfunded schools and providing better resources will help all people, rather than just the few who are lucky enough to make it to affirmative action in college
///thinks that society is farked up for saying it can't fix the schools- it just doesn't want to

sloppy shoes:

/not for affirmative action in schools
// simply fixing underfunded schools and providing better resources will help all people, rather than just the few who are lucky enough to make it to affirmative action in college
///thinks that society is farked up for saying it can't fix the schools- it just doesn't want to

I've come to hold the view that the only justifiable affirmative action is that which is blind to immutable traits (gender, race, sexuality, etc) and which considers economic standing. A mobile society is a good one. But simply reaping benefits because of you happen to have a certain group of ancestors is indefensible.

I would agree with you on the economic traits. But at that point we are socialism. So why call it affirmative action?

It's amazing the euphemisms we've had to invent due to the cold war.

sloppy shoes: I would agree with you on the economic traits. But at that point we are socialism. So why call it affirmative action?

It's amazing the euphemisms we've had to invent due to the cold war.

Socialism is the outright ownership of the means of production. Assisting the economically disadvantaged always works in society's favor, from expanding the tax base to the decreasing of various ills that plague the lower classes.

There is nothing really socialistic about need based assistance programs. The Nordic states have some of the most competitive market economies on Earth and this is in large part due to their philosophies about social assistance and mobility.

Socialism also concerns itself with the distribution of capital, etc...

However, having a free market doesn't mean you don't have socialism. If you think about need based assistance programs, they are just playing robin hood. (A good thing I might add). However, that is saying that by being human (usually the only condition we are concerned with), you own a part of society and thus are entitled to that ownership. Just because your parents forgot to or couldn't doesn't mean it's not yours- thus society owns a little bit of the means of production and distribution.

The nordic states are socialistic- they are also free market oriented. Contrary to american opinion you can have both.

/my right hand fell asleep and i now have to hunt and peck. sorry.

Alright, now that my hand has awakened, I can finally type. (Literally couldn't feel the right four fingers, ughhh).

Anyways,

I would generally agree that keeping things equal among society does actually increase competition. This is aptly explained with monopolies and monopsonies. However, a small group of people or companies on either side of supply and demand creates the same thing. Stuff I'm sure you know.

However, I mainly wanted to say that we associate fascist USSR with socialism, when that is not the case- rather an extreme. The government doesn't have to plan out production on the whole for socialism to be implemented- rather, they merely need to put restrictions. But more aptly, they need to base those restrictions on the betterment of society as opposed to any one profit- the US has socialistic power companies, for very good reasons too.

The problem with debating socialism and capitalism is that they both can be roughly the same thing, the key is to implement them in situations where their assumptions make sense- often the key assumption is free entry/ free exit. Since that rarely exists, (as in the case of power companies above), socialism is actually a policy our government and many others are slowly leaning towards. However, socialism != USSR.

/Personally, I'd like to see a maximum wage implemented, along with public cost accounting. I know oil company execs (and many others) don't actually provide the value to the company that they get paid for. Further, most companies over-charge for their products. Detrimental to society.

Although having restrictions doesn't mean you're socialist. The key assumption is that you are implementing the restrictions for the betterment of society, along with some kind of equaling out of them.

Financial regulations tread that thin line as to what they should actually be called- laissez-faire capitalism clearly doesn't work, or at least creates economic periods in society that people don't want to deal with; yet, it's arguable if bank regulations actually help the majority of society or simply help us recession less.

sorry to be so farking long winded. next time i'll just have a beer.

Irish wouldn't have had a chance with these guys.

Doesn't surprise me, though Subby is a bit of a Douchemitter for the idiot title. This has nothing to do with a Nanny State but everything to do with a university trying to maintain its left-wing image. A lot of universities are doing the same thing. Most schools still have "academic freedom" on the books, but it's a myth.

Where I went to university for my BA, we had a professor, a Palestinian, who presented his paper on Israel at an Iranian conference held by President Farkballs over there. Some rather racist Israel haters showed up as well. It was big in the Canadian news and lots of professors here signed a big condemnation of the man. Luckily, the Senate didn't censure the professor. I can't stand that prof, he's a dickweed, but he has the right to present his papers at conferences, and to not be judged by the people who were there with him. If we don't like what he has to say, listen and disagree.

This article is a sign that people are idiots.

Everybody in the ACLU is so damned negative... so how can they call it affirmative action?

sloppy shoes: The scary thing is, this is how most universities are now a days. Racial discrimination is obtuse and shouldn't be tolerated, but claims against people aren't checked anymore.

It's funny that the university was willing to fire him over a book, yet that bureaucrat won't be fired for not even attempting to do his job. I love the world we live in. Power and money is all that matters- intelligence and reason rarely buy you anything.

/on a side note, Indiana is very racist though, IMO

The weird Liberal double-think, controlling the masses by fear and guilt, has struck again!

A link to the Affirmative Action Office of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. (and a picture of the person in charge)
Link (new window)

/shocked, just shocked
//Ignorance has all the colors of a rainbow

After months of stonewalling, the university withdrew the charge, thanks to pressure from the press, the American Civil Liberties Union and a group called the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, or FIRE.

I've said at least 100 times, if you want to stop a bully get professional bullies, LAWYERS AND THE MEDIA. Even a $106,000-a-year affirmative-action officer can be shut down with enough pressure.

This wouldn't have happened if this mick kid was white.

All right, we'll give some land to the ni**ers and the chinks, but we DON'T WANT THE IRISH.

karlandtanya: Ironically, I detest the Klan and I have dated a woman of color.


Some of my best friends are Jewish.

i can really relate to "you people".

i've seen good times, and the jeffersons!

Since I was not alive when affirmative action was first debated, I have a question for the older farkers (and this is only slightly related to the article since everyone seems to be talking about it):

Was affirmative action the response of our representative government to the civil rights movements and social unrest of the 1950s and 1960s? Rather than a one-time payout of reparations, didn't civil leaders desire a social contract that would help lift up the disadvantaged and thereby improve all of society?

I am just wondering, because after a few generations of affirmative action, I can see that my black friends are better off than their parents mostly due to the availability of education and job opportunities. Sure, there are lots of problems with black society, but my generation (I'm 30) seems to take it all in stride.

Granted, the system isn't perfect, but I wonder if it is better for everyone in our country now compared to the early 1960s? Any older farkers care to put in their 2c?

Suicidal Writer:

There is nothing really socialistic about need based assistance programs. The Nordic states have some of the most competitive market economies on Earth and this is in large part due to their philosophies about social assistance and mobility.

It must be true, because a link to a scandinavian tourist www site said so!

"repeatedly reading the book . . . constitutes racial harassment in that you demonstrated disdain and insensitivity to your co-workers."


"STUPID! You're SO STUPID!"

sloppy shoes: Racial discrimination is obtuse and shouldn't be tolerated, but claims against white people aren't checked anymore.


FTFY

I'd like to know who was the numbskull who complained about this guy in the first place and what they were thinking.

chaosweaver: Everybody in the ACLU is so damned negative... so how can they call it affirmative action?

You're an idiot. The ACLU in this case OPPOSED the affirmative action office of the university and came out IN FAVOR of the guy being harassed.

p_marvel: I'd like to know who was the numbskull who complained about this guy in the first place and what they were thinking.

from what I'm seeing, no one complained, the Affirmative action retards just saw him reading a book that had KKK on the cover and went Ape Shiat

As a Hoosier of Irish heritage, I'm getting a kick out of these replies....

It's a HISTORY book. This guy was reading a legitimate history book about real events in Indiana, and despite anyone's distaste for the truth, the Klan was big in Indiana in the 1920's, led by D.C. Stephenson (new window).

In fact, the largest Klan rally ever was held in my home town (new window), just down the street from my parent's current house.

Over time, the Klan fell out of power, due to lots of things - Stephenson's fall, increasing travel and growing cities, and WWII all helped its influence wane to the point that today, it's nothing more than a splinter group of right wing crazies...but in its day, it wielded tremendous power, and that history is important to remember, lest we repeat it (I think someone important said that).

Programs that give a helping hand to the disadvantaged are a good thing, but Affirmative Action and "Diversity" have turned into a live wire that one dare not go near, without fear of being branded racist, where the reality is that the actions of many supporters of 'diversity' are nothing more than racists in their own right.

Our company is considering hiring a 'diversity' executive....since the company lives and breathes by the mathematical and consulting skills of its staff, it doesn't care what color, sex, nationality or religion someone is, as long as they can do the job....but for some reason, it's seen as a shareholder liability NOT to have someone in charge of 'diversity.' So, there's 200K+ a year to make sure that we don't get targeted by the National Action Network for our annual contribution to their cause. They could help their cause a lot better by emphasizing math, science and cracking a book now and then.

Silly_Sot: You're an idiot. The ACLU in this case OPPOSED the affirmative action office of the university and came out IN FAVOR of the guy being harassed.

Okay, scroll back up and read it again. now, this time, read it like it's a joke. now, the next time you catch a thought, let it go.

Where are the white women at?

First thing... submitter ( and some of you all ) haven't had your coffee this morning... that's not THE Irish... it's Notre Dame University's Fighting Irish... Indiana History.

Also, It's quite clear that the Indiana University officials were worried that someone was READING, not what the book was about. ( Secondarily, it being a book about Notre Dame got them really scared.) They didn't even notice that the book was about the KKK.

/ A more informative article on the event (pops)

Motor_Head: Since I was not alive when affirmative action was first debated, I have a question for the older farkers (and this is only slightly related to the article since everyone seems to be talking about it):

Was affirmative action the response of our representative government to the civil rights movements and social unrest of the 1950s and 1960s? Rather than a one-time payout of reparations, didn't civil leaders desire a social contract that would help lift up the disadvantaged and thereby improve all of society?

I am just wondering, because after a few generations of affirmative action, I can see that my black friends are better off than their parents mostly due to the availability of education and job opportunities. Sure, there are lots of problems with black society, but my generation (I'm 30) seems to take it all in stride.

Granted, the system isn't perfect, but I wonder if it is better for everyone in our country now compared to the early 1960s? Any older farkers care to put in their 2c?

Generally speaking, it IS better for blacks than it was in the 60's. I mean, you think Barack Obama would be running for Pres in 1965? No way. Hell, he'd probably have been shot. And there are fewer and fewer events like Watts with every year.

The affirmative action programs as implemented, though, were probably not the best way to go. If your tinfoil hat is on, Affirmative Action was race-based specifically in order to keep poor whites at odds with poor blacks (evidence exists that keeping the poor of both races in conlict with each other was intentionally done back in the 20's to weaken unions). Had it been simply income-based, and the effect would have been basically the same (since minorities tend to be poor). With the conflict, both groups lose.

If your tinfoil hat is off: It seemed like a good idea but in practice turned out not to be as advertised (law of unintended consequences). Still better then Jim Crow.

I remember when the Irish beat the Klan.

I lost $20 on that game.

chaosweaver: p_marvel: I'd like to know who was the numbskull who complained about this guy in the first place and what they were thinking.

from what I'm seeing, no one complained, the Affirmative action retards just saw him reading a book that had KKK on the cover and went Ape Shiat

Wrong. Two black co-workers complained. The AAO took their side without bothering to even give the janitor a hearing.

Hey, this was at Indiana University. I think the real reason they were hassling him is because he was reading a book that gave a favorable view of Notre Dame.

And yes, the ACLU was supporting HIM, not the misguided affirmative action folks. They pretty much always support individual rights. It is what they do.

Mind you, it is ridiculous that they'd try to stop him reading that book, but nevertheless, he's a racist motherfarka.

Every single black employee is employed due to "affirmative action" now? Oh yea, that's a way to show you really regard people of color as equals. Surely they couldn't get the job due to ANY OTHER factor.

And "I had a black girlfriend!" doesn't make you not a racist--that would describe half the plantation owners.

Also, anyone who thinks that affirmative action means a "free ride" for minorities has no idea about any of the actual reasoning behind it, or how to acknowledge privilege.

from another article: Link (new window)

Sampson recalls that his AFSCME shop steward told him that reading a book about the Klan was like bringing pornography to work. The shop steward wasn't interested in hearing what the book was actually about. Another time, a coworker who was sitting across the table from Sampson in the break room commented that she found the Klan offensive. Sampson says he tried to tell her about the book, but she wasn't interested in talking about it.

I am incensed at bureaucracy and all-powerful employees. When you pay for a service, be it at Wal*Mart, the Port Authority or a school you deserve to get that service in full. When the moto is, "they work for us so they must be right," you should sue them for theft by fraud.

I HATE affirmative action discussions, as people do not know whereof they speak.

First, I smell a rat. I think the case is more complicated than the guy's article makes it appear. (I'm not saying what the U did is right, just that I suspect it's way more complicated.)

Second, this case has nothing to do with affirmative action. The first person who used that term in this thread is an asshat (and doesn't know jack about MLK). It has to do with the really bad laws on harassment at work.

Third, and watch the bouncing ball, if "affirmative action" is bad because it means taking into account something other than grades and test scores, then "race-based" affirmative action is a teeny, tiny drop in the pond. Region, proposed major, athletic ability, attendance at a community college, and all sorts of other things matter more.

For instance, state Us have considerable "affirmative action" in favor of in-state residents. That is, it's much easier to get in if you're from the state than not. (When I point that out, people say, "But that's fair because of X and Y." Fine, you may think it's fair, but all you're saying is that it's a kind of affirmative action you like, so stop biatching about "affirmative action"--you aren't really opposed to it; you're only opposed to kinds from which you think you don't benefit.)

Finally, the best evidence suggests that the racial/gender group most harmed by affirmative action is Asian male, and the racial/gender group that benefits the most is white male. This is especially true in colleges of Engineering.

There is strong evidence that Us find a way to admit academically mediocre white males (probably because they give the most as alums).

"Keith John Sampson is a communication-studies senior and janitor at Indiana University/Purdue University-Indianapolis."

Indignant and unskilled? You'll go far, son.

karlandtanya: Ironically, I detest the Klan and I have dated a woman of color.


Some of my best friends are Jewish.
wouldn't it have been even more ironic if he loved the Klan yet still dated a woman of color?

and i totally agree with karlandtanya. that seemed so out of place and tacked on.

Oh oooops, I didn't read that right.

Damn. Some good outrage wasted.