Saturday 12 June 2021

That's discrimination

 I have received the latest newsletter for yoootoooob creators, they send it every month. A quick flick through the contents and I usually bin it straight away. I only make videos for a hobby, I don't need to grow my earning potential, or customise my channel name and picture. 

What caught my eye was the heading, yoootooob black voices fund. It seems that you can apply for a grant, and join classes to learn how to make an impact. Applications will be accepted after June 21st. 

The programme sounds really good. You get dedicated support from a partner manager. You get funding invested into the development of your content. You get workshops and master classes throughout the year. And access to exclusive social and community programmes. 

But wait a minute, I can't apply for this, because I am white. Isn't this discrimination?  Shouldn't people be assessed on their ability, not the colour of their skin? 

I remember years ago I was invited to go on a morning chat show TV programme. It went out live and was held at the studios in London. The topic to be discussed was free courses for women to be given training for their HGV licence. There was a shortage of drivers at the time, there still is, and Shell UK thought it would be a good idea to get more women into the business. So they offered ten free places for women to apply for. 

To say I was a tad annoyed was an understatement. I have never expected preferential treatment, when applying for jobs, or expected an easy ride when it came to carrying out my workload. I was a driver who happened to be a woman, end of. Everyone should be assessed on their own merits and ability, whatever they do, whoever they are. 

The programme went brilliantly. I made my point, I laid into the two representatives from Shell UK. Why was this offer just for women, why weren't they offering the same opportunities to men? There are lots of unemployed young men who would jump at the chance. The focus turned on me and my point of view. I walked out of there with my head held high. That told them, ha ha. 

It seems now that we have to have positive discrimination, so that those who are passed over for opportunities have a better chance. It shouldn't be like that. Everyone should be assessed on their abilities, their ambitions, their willingness to learn, and the contributions they have to offer for their chosen professions. Not whether they are black or white. I will bin this newsletter. 

It's sunny. Enjoy your weekend. Toodle pip.   ilona

30 comments:

  1. Yup, plain, pure, in your face, discrimination. It only makes matters worse, which is exactly what the-powers-that-be want. If we peons are looking at each other we are not looking at them stripping away our freedoms and robbing us blind.

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  2. I wholeheartedly agree with your post.

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  3. I agree with you. I believe it is racist to give special opportunities to people because of their race or penalties because of race. You are right, plenty of young men would like the help in becoming truck drivers.

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  4. Agree with you completely. Job offers should ignore discrimination and get the right person for the job.

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  5. Hi Ilona, after I commented, I thought of something that happened to me, about ten years ago. The company I worked for had a large employee dinner, and I sat at a table for ten including the General manager and other high level sorts. For some reason, the topic of discrimination came up, and the GM or another exec said that our company and its leadership was very diverse. I said “what”. Politely of course. I pointed out that, excluding Human Resources, all the executives were white men. The GM said “but the group is diverse”. He actually said…it is a diverse group because the men all come from different parts of the US. Sigh. I told them that didn’t count. Sometimes discrimination isn’t perceived. People hire people like them, not even seeing that they only hire men, or whites, etc. so there might be a point to holding open slots just when the hiring manager can’t see that all his hires are the same color and sex as him. Food for thought.

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  6. I find this highly offensive. The implication is that black people are unable to make it on their own merit, which is a nonsense. However, I think that the whole purpose of all of this is to create divides in society so that we are all resentful and fighting each other. Works every time unfortunately.

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  7. Years ago I worked for a large Canadian municipality. They introduced a scheme to "help immigrant women advance in municipal government" I applied along with a German and Serbian coworker. None of us made the cut. It turned out you had to be a visibly ethnic immigrant woman.

    Discrimination or selective cunning?

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    1. Being from a certain ethnic minority wouldn't have been enough in and of itself. How do you know the women who made the cut weren't more qualified, had a better skill set etc. These schemes are generally designed to get more people from the targeted group applying because traditionally that group is massively under represented in the applications and therefore within the organisation. You still have to go through a selection process based on ability.

      Ultimately these organisations will look at why their companies seem unattractive places for certain groups to want to apply to work there, address these issues and become a better employer and then the end game that is the need for these schemes goes away.

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    1. Hi Sharon L,I dont see this as a negative post..this is the truth!.So tell me why this is negative,when this has been happening for a long time now.I am sorry if you are offended by this..I really am a nice person and my Asian neighbours agree with me!.Best wishes,xx

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    2. This isn't a negative post just the plain and simple truth. Ilona keep saying things as they are l have so much admiration for the truths you tell in today's such politically correct world x

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    4. Sharon, may I suggest, if this is not to your liking you could visit Frugal Queen in France for your fix of frugalness.

      I didn't have politics in mind when I wrote this. It was just an illustration of how unequal things are in all walks of life. Positive discrimination is just the same as any other discrimination. To give people an unfair advantage because of their skin colour, disability, or sexual orientation, is not fair. These are not things that are chosen, they what was assigned to them at birth.

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    6. Ilona the point is there is no unfair advantage. The things you've highlighted don't even come close to redressing the massive disadvantage

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  9. My Dad said 50 years ago that this is what this country is coming too...and he was right.This has been going on for a long time now and I am sick of it.It is racist against anyone who is white.xx

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  10. Positive discrimination in the uk is illegal under the equalities act.

    You can take actions to help a minority group, such as training but you cannot give them the role if someone else is more suited to it.

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  11. Working in the public sector fòr many years quite a few black staff were totally against positive discrimination. They saw it as a slight on being able to get a job or promotion on their own merit and ability. They really didn't like the idea that if you were white you wouldn't stand a chance. It made them feel very inadequate and they saw it that black staff were made to feel less capable or educated than their white counterparts. Also many politically correct expressions were not liked by them either e.g. having to say Bin liner instead of Black bag. I was told if the bag is black in colour it was a black bag. Some told me it just heightened racist tensions between co-workers.

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    1. I think you have misunderstood your companies Equal Opportunities Policy. As Gill said there's no positive discrimination.

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  12. I never understand why people do not see discrimination for what it is.

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  13. I'm not commenting on the rights and wrongs of the post/comments but I guess it gives you an clear insight as to how 'minority groups' have been treated and felt for a very long time . . . and I'm not just talking a few decades. xx

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  14. Everyone treated by their own merit is how it should be but do you really think that's where we are yet? Prejudices are still all around us. I expect black YouTubers do experience people wanting to pigeon hole them, attribute beliefs to them that they don't hold. Not by me but by enough people that it is a fact that black people face more barriers than white people.

    I can't see this as racism. I think it's uncompassionate to believe a tiny programme to help groups that have faced generations of discrimination is unfair to white people. White people (or males) don't always have the same barriers to overcome. What is so threatening about a little leg up here and there for fellow citizens struggling to get on in life.

    And there will be programmes to help white people too if their barriers are low educational achievement or living in an economically deprived area etc. This sort of thing wouldn't be needed if we were all born with equal opportunities but that is so far from the case.

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  15. I don't know whether it is a good or a bad thing for me to read something like this and then see all the comments. It does serve to remind me of the defensiveness and ignorance of many about why we have arrived at a point where positive discrimination is considered necessary.
    We all want to believe that everything we have got is as a result of our own merits and hard work. We must be very careful about that. The corollary is that if particular groups are underrepresented compared with their number in the general population we may be revealing that we (unconsciously, mostly) think that is because people with those characteristics are, as a group, less meritorious and less hard working.
    Sometimes a good question to ask yourself is "If I had a [black, disabled, whatever] friend (or reader), would the way I am pursuing this line of discussion cause them pain? Would it show that I've not been listening to them or that they have never felt comfortable sharing their experiences and views with me?"
    Change often involves discomfort. I have a bright white middle class heterosexual cis son who has (currently!) no disabilities or significant chronic health conditions... and he is pleasant and works hard. Of course I want him to do well! But he's already had his leg up in UK society by accident of birth. This isn't to say he's got a full house of privilege (he hasn't)... that's what so many commenters forget - just because we don't feel we've had everything handed to us on a plate doesn't mean that some things haven't been easier for us, whether we noticed it or not, because of some unearned thing which currently advantages people in this society.

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    1. This is exactly it. I had a white, middle class upbringing in the 70's and 80's. Lots of opportunities and advantages. I have challenges in life but thank goodness I don't have to face them with the disadvantage of prejudice from my society. ✌️

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  16. Crikey, weekends are usually slow on this blog, now look what's happened.

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  17. Hi Ilona, hows your foot? i hope its starting to heal.
    Sandra. X

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    1. The swelling has gone down and it is a lot less painful. I managed a five mile walk today. Thank you for asking.

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  18. Your topic a few pages back was think of the children.

    Let's do that. So a classroom full of children, one is disabled, another from a family whose first language isnt English, but they are showing signs of having a talent. But to reach their full potential they need extra help.
    To get them on the same level playing field they need a helping hand.

    Getting them to to that level playing field is what it's all about.

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    1. Everyone needs a helping hand at some point, but not to the exclusion of others. That help should first come from parents and family, and second from teachers at school. Talent should be nurtured, but there will never be a level playing field because some are born with talent and some not.

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