Affirmative action
Ms. Hackett purports to be against racism, calling it ‘heinous’, however she outrageously states in her article that if written examination standards are not changed for minorities, and blacks in particular, it may be a decade before another black firefighter is hired in Denver. That is not just insulting to all blacks and minorities, it is a morally indefensible position that I would expect to be spouted by the likes of David Duke. She scoffs at those riding the “affirmative action is racist” bandwagon, alleging there is not one scientific study proving reverse discrimination.
However, you do not need a scientific study to know that treating applicants differently based upon their race is the definition of racism. Whether or not a white applicant has been denied a job due to affirmative action is not the point. Racism is either wrong or it is not. Apparently, Ms. Hackett does not believe it is wrong.
Ms. Hackett goes on to attack as racist supporters of a proposed ballot measure that would prohibit government from using race, sex, color ethnicity or national origin in the operation of public employment, public education or public contracting. Yet, she then applauds President Lyndon Johnson’s 1965 decree to federal contractors to take ‘affirmative action’ to ensure applicants are employed and that employees are treated during employment without regard to their race, creed, color or national origin. Ignoring the fact that is was not President Johnson who issued this decree in 1965, but President Kennedy who issued it by Executive Order 10,925 in 1961, the wording of the proposed ballot measure and the decree are almost identical.
However, under Ms. Hackett’s muddled reasoning, one is racist while the other is benevolent.
I agree with Ms. Hackett about one thing though, we do have a long way to go before racism is ended, not because of ballot measures that would seek to prohibit differing treatment of people based upon their race, but because there are still people like Ms. Hackett who continue to want people to be judged based upon the color of their skin. I, for one, am content to judge them by the content of their character.
This letter has not been edited.