power communication

[Mary C. Simmons, Hydrologic Assistant, Albuquerque, NM]

I have a very low sympathy level for "Angry White Males" who whine about 
"reverse discrimination".  Most white males seem to believe that since they 
didn't personally CAUSE the problem, they should not be called upon to help 
fix it, by standing aside with no whining so that a non-white- male may have 
an opportunity.  I still see little evidence that anything but white males 
dominate the highest places in all the professions and income brackets.  This 
is NOT the same thing as saying that no white males are at the low end of the 
opportunity spectrum.

I believe Michael brought up the issue of class. There is a definite 
correlation between class and race/gender.  The poverty levels are populated 
mostly by women and children of all races, and men of color.

Perhaps it is no more "fair" that what happens to women of color is starting 
to happen to white men.  This IS a consequence of trying to balance 
opportunity.  It really is not fair for the low end of the economic spectrum 
to be mostly populated by women and people of color, which means there is a 
strange absence of white men.

So, now we have a big cat/dog fight on our hands, and we debate who has the 
most right to win.  IMHO, we should be taking a look at the basis of the 
economic theory that runs this place.  This basis is called "scarcity"--which 
means that we have accepted that there are not enough resources to go around; 
therefore a certain %age of the population  will experience lack and scarcity, 
while others enjoy abundance and wealth.  I was shocked to find this scarcity 
principle as the fundamental theory of economics.

Enter race and gender for the populations at the bottom, and Affirmative 
Action as our only way to try to distribute scarcity fairly among all races 
and genders.  As long as we subscribe to the scarcity theory, we have to find 
the reprobates to be the have-nots.  This culture has selected women and 
people of color as the primary reprobates.

Seems there really are TWO issues: women and people of color as reprobates; 
and the scarcity principle that powers class.  If we get rid of the scarcity 
principle, will we have ended race/gender discrimination? If we manage to end 
race/gender discrimination, will that get rid of the scarcity principle?




_________________________________________________________________________
Mary Simmons
U.S. Geological Survey, Water Resources Division  
Albuquerque, New Mexico 
(505)262-5330
[EMAIL PROTECTED]