discrimination

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Where Racism Does Not Exist!


For the second year in a row, I have been tasked with teaching kindergartens. Last year it was in Somerville, Massachusetts and this year is in Greenville, North Carolina. In Somerville I had a class of about 40% Latino students and this year in Greenville, I have a class that has 16 black students, 1 Hispanic student and 1 white student. At this age of 5 years, I dare say, most American children have no concept of race. They are pure in heart and mind. They are the perfect American.

If they are perfect at age 5, what happens by the time they are age 12 and all that has changed? The answer is quite simple. It is primarily the influence of their parents. They teach their white children, their black children, their Hispanic children that it is “us” against them. Secondarily, it is the influence of their peers and of the social norms of their neighborhood.

For 14 years now, I have been teaching in racially diverse school rooms. I can say that between 90% and 100%, the children in these classes have maintained their color blindness. They are racially mixed and most times to turn their backs on any one particular group would bring an end to those whom they call friend. They are mostly unwilling to do this.

It is easy to say that this sort of discrimination is part of white culture. But the white culture is not alone. Certain parts of black culture and Hispanic culture are also discriminatory.

When I was a child, my Roman Catholic orthodoxy taught me religious discrimination. We Catholics were right while all Protestants were not going to heaven. A ridiculous idea in most of today’s culture. Black culture was so tired of the overt discrimination they felt that they took to the streets to protest and, at times, these protests turned violent.

It was my father who greatly tempered my Catholic doxology with his Protestant Unitarian view of the world. They sought to find the expected good in all people.

Almost always through the eyes of young children, we find a perfect world. Yes, a good part of that is their lack of understanding of the world at large. Their world is one of family, school and play friends. Why cannot adults garner the same attitude as their children? Because they lack the understanding necessary to see all people in the same light. They have mostly allow other people to do their thinking for them, a most unhealthy way of life.

Whjle their may be nothing we can do for older prejudiced adults, their is something we can do for children and adults. We can educate them as to while certain minorities feel so angry as they do. They are not angry just to be that way. They are angry because of the overt and covert discrimination they have felt. Fully enlightened education will work. That education must begin at an early age. We as parents, as educators, as leaders of the community must see to it that our children and young adults are witness to a culture of good-will and acceptance.

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Age-ism in America; The Discrimination Practice No One Wants to Talk About


I am a 67-year-old man who retired 9 years ago after 30 years with the federal government. My first 11 years was on active duty with the US Army and the next 19 years with the U.S. Dept. of Transportation. I have a B.S. degree in computer science and a Master’s degree in U.S. History. That second degree might not mean so much except I got it from Harvard and figured that would count for something. But thus far, it does not seem to have counted for anything. Additionally, I am in amazing health. At a recent visit to the doctor’s office they were concerned when they saw my resting pulse was 52. I told them about my cardio exercise program which is just a bit intense. I have a 24-mile bicycle route for my lazy days and a 40-mile route for my more energetic. Regardless, at a cardiac stress test I recently took the doctor was amazed that I not only reached my max heart rate but surpassed it. He informed me they have trouble getting most people to reach their max heart rate.

From age 58, when I retired from the Federal Government until 65, I worked as a substitute teacher for a public school system of an inner city school. I mostly taught grades 3 through 6. I really liked that job and it was a great experience until one day I felt I needed to move on. But move on to what? I just know that I want to be working and being productive.

I spent a fair amount of my spare time since retiring figuring out what I could of quantum physics. The subject absolutely fascinates me. I decided that if I could return to age 18 I would pursue an undergrad degree in physics with an emphasis on the quantum part of it and then follow that up with a doctoral program in astro-physics.   To do such a thing I would need to hone my math skills and so I have embarked on relearning all my high school and college math, self-taught this time. It is going well!

Anyway, over the past two years plus I have applied for numerous jobs for which I know I am entirely qualified and would like to do. One job in particular I came across at a job fair Harvard held. The job description perfectly fit my experience. As it turned out, however, the woman at the job fair was also the one doing the hiring. I did not get the job. It is not so bad not getting a job but it seems corporate America today no longer feels the need to send a rejection letter. That would be both the right thing to do and the polite thing to do. None of the dozen or so jobs I have applied for has sent me a rejection letter. What am I to make of this? How do I get a prospective employer to understand that while I may be over-qualified it does not mean I would not fully enjoy doing the job? And how do I get them to disregard my age?

About a year ago someone told me not to include any jobs further back than 20 years. That sounded a little disingenuous to me but I did that. It did not help. One thing is certain, ageism is at work here.

I am an intelligent person who has a lot of energy and a lot of years in front of him. I do not want to spend those years in retirement. I have too much to offer and think it is of value. I just need to get someone to look past my age and consider that I have a lot of potential. I am most certainly more reliable and experienced and most 20-somethings in the working world today. I also do not need most benefits that a 20-something requires. Not only do I have Medicare but also a 2nd health plan I retired with. And since I already receive a government retirement annuity on top of social security, I have not need of a 401k or other retirement vehicle. Those two things alone taken out of a fully loaded pay. In other words, I come cheap. It boggles my mind why some company has not snapped me up yet just considering those two things alone. Ageism? I truly believe I could easily work at a single job until I am 85 or older.

What sorts of jobs am I well-suited for? I am glad you asked! Project management of large scale computer systems, the design and implementation, to included planning, contracting, testing, and implementing.   I could be a CIO. I have seen the job some CIOs have done and can only wonder who thought they would be good at the job. Thirty years ago I was hired by a professor at MIT because he said I had the political skills necessary to get some engineering work done, skills he sorely lacked. I play well with others and know how to get people to do a good job and satisfy a customer in the process. My mind is outstandingly logical which helps me deduce the best solution to problems as they present themselves.

I know I am not alone among retirees who would love to re-enter the job force. We are more grounded, more experienced and more reliable than most applicants for just about any job. It would seem that companies would want exactly that sort of person but how do you get those companies to realize that people over 60 can be fantastic workers?  Not only is it stupid for companies to reject people over 60 without consideration, it is illegal!  Proving that is another case.