Re: Help! First TW job interview

[Darren Barefoot <dbarefoot -at- MPS-CANADA -dot- COM>]

Dear Sir,

Let me begin by asking where I actually "dismiss ageism"? Furthermore, if
you look carefully, I indicated that hiring based upon age "may be"
acceptable in other cultures.

Mr. Rocco, please leave your hyperbole at the door and desist from wielding
your cultural whacking stick. You have every right to support whatever value
system you choose. That does not, however, allow you to spread it across the
globe like so much paint thinner simply because you think it's the best
value system.

My point, which you effectively mutated beyond recognition, is that northern
Europeans (or Burkina Fasoans or Chileans) have the right to establish
hiring practices in whatever fashion they see fit. Do I approve of
indicating age in job descriptions? Certainly not in North America. What
about somewhere else? I've never been to the Netherlands or Sweden or
Finland, and I don't understand the cultural differences between those
countries and mine. Maybe they have some sort of embedded, hierarchical
system that relates to age. I have no idea. Unlike yourself, I wouldn't
presume to know what is best for them.

Sincerely,
Darren Barefoot

-----Original Message-----
From: Tony Rocco [mailto:trocco -at- ONDISPLAY -dot- COM]
Sent: Friday, March 12, 1999 12:12 PM
To: TECHWR-L -at- LISTSERV -dot- OKSTATE -dot- EDU
Subject: Re: Help! First TW job interview


        It's pretty frightening to hear someone dismiss ageism and other
forms of discrimination as "perfectly acceptable" given a particular
cultural context. So, by Mr. Barefoot's logic, racism and sexism are OK when
the culture supports and approves of  it. Well, it's pretty hard to say
anything against racism, sexism, and homophobia with that sort of
perspective, Mr. Barefoot. If the cultural context doesn't approve of it, it
wouldn't exist in the first place. If the cultural context does approve of
it, it's perfectly OK and no one can criticize it.

        And, regarding Mr. Barefoot's appreciation for people openly venting
their "undeniable biases:" genuine feelings of bias toward a group of people
who share a particular trait does not make it acceptable to put that bias
into effect in one's hiring practices.

        One context of which Mr. Barefoot should be aware is that of people
on this list who don't approve of discrimination of any form regardless of
whether or not it's deemed acceptable within the context in which it occurs.

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