Continuing with the pattern— I am a white female and, like many others, I come from a middle class background. I wish I had thought to share more about my background sooner, because I think that our circumstances play a great role in shaping what our opinions. It kinda seems like good stuff to keep in mind when you read anything. On the issue of anti-discrimination law, I think that as long as discrimination exists, anti-discrimination laws need to exist. I know that I’m stating the obvious, but this is pretty much common ground that reasonable people can agree upon. But, the question over whether our current anti-discrimination laws working too hard or not working hard enough? That’s a bit more complicated.
In some cases, anti-discrimination laws can help to level the playing field by creating “equal opportunities”. Sadly, an outside force cannot really create equal opportunity; there are just too many factors that can’t realistically be addressed. A teacher at my high school once told my class about a struggling student who was in one of her classes a long time ago. This student rarely did his homework, he slept during class, and he performed poorly on tests and quizzes. By this point, I was wondering what this kid’s issue was. Why didn’t he go to sleep at home and actually try to pay attention during class? So then my teacher told the class that when she talked to the student about his performance, he told her that he was rarely able to get a full night’s sleep because his dad would wake him up at one or two in the morning and get him to help with some kind of overnight work related to his job, and that’s why he had a hard time staying awake in class. Now, I have no idea if this story was true or not, but it sounds pretty plausible for the time and place that it supposedly occurred. Long story short, the kid received tutoring and he was able to pass, but he certainly wasn’t about to head off to college, because his dad needed him at home. So even though some factors can be addressed, we can’t put anyone on true equal footing, and that’s something that we need to keep in mind.
Anti-discrimination laws can also open new loopholes for those looking to gain the system, and often times those who the laws are set up to help aren’t receiving the benefits they should. I know that loopholes can be found within any set of laws, but I’ve seen far too many people take advantage of “equalizers” that they didn’t really need just because they knew how to twist the facts in order to work the system, and they end up taking away from someone who really could have used the benefits. That, and sometimes the people who benefit from anti-discrimination law are able to take their benefits too far, and that’s not good either. Behold, a new can of worms is opened.
To echo what Brandon said earlier this week, it seems that a lot of anti-discrimination laws aren’t really solving issues so much as they’re providing quick fixes to problems. I agree; if we really want anti-discrimination laws to work, then we have to look at the root of the issue. I think that the terms of many anti-discrimination laws need to be refreshed to ensure that the laws are serving their purpose as best they can. Anti-discrimination laws will never be able to do what we really need for them to do, that is, to end discrimination or create an environment where discrimination cannot exist, anti-discrimination laws are definitely necessary in a world in which discrimination exists.
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