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.