Thread: Discrimination

Some of you know I'm a lifeguard at a swimming pool. Our pool has rules, and some parts of the pool are restricted by height or swimming ability. Today, a woman got quite angry about this saying that it was racist and discrimination blah blah blah.

Chatting about it in the staff room with two of my bosses, I effectively said it was discriminatory but it was important to do it because of health and safety. Unsurprisingly, this was met with them lecturing me on how it wasn't discrimination.

How ever, as far as I'm concerned discrimination is making a distinction between things. In this case, the distinction is it's safe for people over a certain height and dangerous for people under it. That's discriminating between two groups of people is it not? It's a certainly a 'pre-judgement' as there are certainly people under that height that are quite safe and people over it who are not.

Now, does this show that people have a narrow minded view of discrimination as a negative thing? Am I wrong? I don't understand how and arbitrary rule cannot discriminate.

Discrimination is a good thing most times- it lets me choose chocolate ice cream over vanilla etc. Its just bad when it becomes hate crimes. Like my "type" is brunette white women. Am I a bigot for not dating blondes or other races? No.

It is a bit like saying "Fair or ginger haired white people should not be sun bathing without a sunscreen". No one would call that discrimination becausce it is common knowledge that fair and ginger haired white people get terrible sunburn without.

Discrimination is defined as: prejudiced or prejudicial outlook, action, or treatment. If something is unsafe for people of certain body shape they should not be allowed to go there for their own safety. This has nothing to do with prejudice toward a certain body shape.

It just boils down to the definition of discrimination. As with many words, there are multiple meanings. One is about treating people or groups unfairly or not as well as others - that clearly does not apply in your case as you are, in fact, treating groups equally fairly by maintaining equal safety for all. If you opened up those areas of the pool for every class of swimmer, you would in fact be discriminating against those you currently do not permit, as you would be increasing their chances of danger and potential drowning over and above that of the groups you currently allow. It's the very opposite of that definition of discrimination in my book.

Another definition of discrimination is that of recognising good quality, as in "He is a very discriminating gentleman", which I am not sure applies at all in this case.

A third definition is simply the ability to discriminate between things - being able to see and understand differences between things. I think this is the definition you are using in your argument.

So, because you are able to discriminate between groups of swimmers, you do not discriminate between those groups of swimmers' safety!

James.

Yea i think the negative connotation associated with the word discrimination stuck with your co-workers and they couldn't shake it off so they decided not to use the word at all. But i can understand their point of view. I mean if you use the word discrimination anywhere people hold their breath.

tell them they're discriminating against you for your definition of discrimination and see if that helps broaden their social perspective

I think that discrimination, as mentioned before, is a good thing... For example, It IS okay to stick my laptop power cord plug into that outlet... It is, however, a bad Idea to allow my fork to do the same thing... I discriminate between the Power Cord and my Fork.

Discrimination is only bad when it is used to confine people WITHOUT REASON. For example:

If you have a deadly, easily transfered virus, please do not use public drinking fountains... That is acceptable discrimination.

If you are black please do not use public drinking fountains... Oops, you ****ed up with that one, Champ. That's bad discrimination.

And yet, words like discrimination, prejudice, etc, are all taken negatively. If I see a guy with tattoos and a leather jacket that says "HATE" in big red letters, I'm avoiding him. That's prejudice, and he may be the world's nicest man, but, 9/10 times, he isn't.

I should work on rambling less.

Cheers,
Jeremy

Lee. Excellent picture!

That's Animal Farm, right? Can't quite remember the title... Great book though

Originally Posted by hoglahoo

tell them they're discriminating against you for your definition of discrimination and see if that helps broaden their social perspective

Heh, we may have a way forward here.

Political correctness run amok. If you didn't discriminate, how could you make a decision about anything. Discrimination is necessary in life, it's how you use it that becomes a moral issue.