Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire I sufferd from racism

I suffered from racism and when I tell the story it pisses black people off.

After I got out of the Navy in 1982 I wanted to be a fireman. It was a part of my Navy rate (HT) so I knew what was involved.

I applied to several cities and tested in 5. Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh. I tested at the very top of the heap and with my veterans points should have been a shoe in. I was told by all these cities that I tested in the top five. Some of them retested and I did those too.

I was not hired due to affirmative action, and they had no problem telling me they were looking for blacks and Hispanics. That is racism pure and simple.

I investigated being a Texas Game Warden in the 80's.

Was told that they pick candidates from large population districts (like Houston) and then be a minority (preferably Hispanic).

Nothing like being fair to everyone, right?

Yeah, but, yeah but, it's only racism one direction. Duh.

While in college, I worked during the summers for the USDA Statistical Reporting Svc in Boise. They needed to hire a secretary and the higher ups decided they needed what would amount to a token black on the staff. So, they imported a young black woman from Salt Lake. What a waste of a good chair. She did nothing but manicure her nails. She was incapable of even the most mundane stuff like filing.

I’ve been the victim of institutionalized racism many times, most times it centered around civil service tests.

Back when I was applying for college my buddy (a black guy...gasp) and I both applied to WWU I had a 3.4gpa and he had a 2.0gpa. I scored higher on the SAT’s and was captain of the swim team. He got a full ride...tuition, room, board and books and I got denied. My parents always told me that the world isn’t fair so I didn’t dwell on it. I went to community college and then transferred to the U of W.

My best friend started with the USPS in Baltimore. He was hired along with several other whites to make the quota. True story!!!
The gold ring for federal hiring is an Asian woman. Extra points!!!

When I was a rural mail carrier at USPS, they hired substitutes for my route. The first 2 were white guys, and neither worked out. The last 4 were 3 Black women and a Puerto Rican guy. One of the Black girls, and the Hispanic dude went on to become full time. Both are good mail carriers. The 2 Black women that didn't make were pathetic.

They never did get around to hiring me an Asian gal.

It generally creates a toxic work environment when employees aren't chosen for their abilities. One can count their blessings if they are in a field where their career trajectory matches their abilities.

Guy I used to work with got his first job because of race. His first name is Lincoln. He was hired out of college at one of the aerospace firms in So. Cal. They were quite taken a back when he showed up the first day and they found he wasn't what they presumed he was.

But he didn't misrepresent himself, and they couldn't admit that they were trying to hire on race. So he kept the job.

In about 1980 I tested for the Post Office, got high-ranking scores, put in for an interview, was told not to bother unless I was a minority female.

That's happened in all levels of various civil service types of jobs................& look at what the service levels have deteriorated to in the majority of them.

MM

Harvard University is being sued for discrimination against Asians. It seems that Asian students must have 450 point higher scores than blacks, or so it is alleged, on the average.

My brother in law applied for police, fire dept., and usps when he got back from 'Nam in '69. Tested well but never hired as he is white.
My nephew tried for several years to get on as a full time fire fighter in NJ....but was told they had to hire blacks or hispanics.....
if I remember correctly it took him almost 7 years to finally get hired. This after being a Captain in the volunteer unpaid
f/d in the small town he lived in.....
Racism is wrong....preferential hiring which depends on color is wrong....lost several jobs in '70's because I am white. In one case that I know of many people died because they hired a black for a job.....

The good news is, now we can "identify" as whatever we want.

Next job I apply for I'm gonna identify as a Black lesbian blind in one eye and walks with a limp.





P

nope- the triple threat is a black lesbian female and boy are they quick to file frivolous eeo lawsuits when they dont get what they want.
Nightmare to have to work with them.

The story is very common. I had the same thing happen to me soon after high school, except it was for the local PD, not the fire department, but it happens equally in both.

I studied my butt off and scored at the very top on the test. I was told that, due to my test score, I would be among the first to move to the next stage toward hiring, and was given a date and location for showing up for the physical. Then the courts stepped in and determined that because no blacks scored high enough on the test (based strictly on memorization of a book they sent us in advance) to be immediately advanced to the next step towards hiring, the test was deemed racist and all the scores were to be randomly jumbled starting at a very low score cut-off, arbitrarily chosen by the courts so as to include lots of blacks. The jumble put me at the bottom when I had been at the very top, i.e., a black man got the top spot I had earned with my test score and I was given the low spot he had earned with his test score.

I guess I had to do my part in paying the price for having enslaved black folks long before I was even born.

I'm surprised that this sort of thing wasn't declared unconstitutional from the start. Our courts have essentially abandoned American legal principles.

When I was in math grad school a young woman from an HBCU was admitted to the program. The graduate adviser placed her in courses appropriate to what her transcript indicated. We took her into our study groups and it wasn't long at all before it became clear she was not sufficiently prepared. As an attempt to salvage the situation the graduate adviser moved her into a slate of courses a tier down from where she started out. I don't recall if she stayed through the full year after that.

This kind of thing screws two people over, the one who got in and the one who should have gotten in.

Exactly.

I should have changed my name right out of high school to Trovon Jackson.

Looks like a bunch of us have experienced our share of white privilege.