First, my thoughts and prayers go out to the friends, families, and co workers of the 4 officers that were killed in Lakewood. And I am trying to figure out why or how the man that shot them was even out of jail. How many chances do we give people? When do we concede that someone is dangerous and should stay in jail? And what rights should prisoners have? Does it violate their civil rights if they have to sleep in a tent? I'm thinking of the sheriff down in either New Mexico or Arizona that makes his prisoner sleep in tents, wear pink jumpsuits, and work out on the "chain gang". And the sheriff is seemingly always fighting lawsuits by either prisoners or the AFL-CIO for violating the prisoners rights. By having committed a crime, don't the convicts use some of their rights? Isn't it their fault that they are there in the first place? I suppose some would say that we should try to rehabilitate them. And for some, that might be a viable option. But on the other hand, if prison was more of a punishment, would that be more of a deterrent?
I just heard that Michael Vick is a team captain for the Eagles game today. I think I'm surprised that I haven't heard about more protests at the Eagles games from the animal rights groups. I was hoping that by the NFL allowing him to re-enter the NFL that more publicity about animal abuse/cruelty would be generated. I'm still torn between the fact that I do believe that people deserve a second chance and the belief that over the years Vick had several chances to do the right thing and chose not to. And does the second chance have to be playing in the NFL making over a million dollars a year? Why not let him try to earn a living doing speaking engagements against animal abuse?
I'd be interested in hearing how people feel about the following scenario:
A friend of mine went into her local Wal Mart in Colorado and needed help finding something. So she found the nearest Wal Mart associate and asked for help. The employee had to go find another associate because she didn't speak any English.
My thoughts on the subject: since we are in America and the language that is spoken here is English I think that if a job requires contact with the public, the employee should be able to speak the language. I think that communication (in this instance)is a requirement for the job and if someone can't perform that job function, then the company should have the right not to hire them and not be sued for discrimination. Some say that that is a racist and elitist attitude.
But how far do we have to go not to discriminate? If someone is blind, would a taxi company have to hire them as a driver or get slapped with a discrimination lawsuit? Where is the line between common sense and political correctness?
Okay. I think I'm done for now! I hope everyone has a great day. Please remember to keep your animals warm the next week.
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I have a hard time agreeing with the idea that it is completely the fault of a prisoner that they are in prison in the first place. I believe that the US judicial system is extremely prejudiced against certain groups. For instance, why is it that while the general population is made up of very few Native Americans (about .68% of the US population http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_States), but our prison system has a disproportionately large number of them (about 1.8%--over double the non-incarcerated proportion http://www.bop.gov/news/quick.jsp)? Are they more predisposed to committing crimes because of their race, or are they more predisposed to committing crimes because they are an underserved population? Native Americans have a ridiculous propensity toward alcohol and drug abuse, a skyrocketing high school drop-out rate, and a high incidence of domestic violence and child abuse. I don't think that a person who is born into this type of situation and happens to commit a crime deserves to lose their rights in the same way that a person born into privilege who has had every opportunity presented to them might. The same could be said for the homeless and mentally ill. Why aren't we treating these people instead of just locking them up?
ReplyDeleteAs far as the language barrier goes--I do believe that in order to do a job effectively, a person should be able to speak a language at an advanced level if required. Picture the situation on the flip side, though--imagine you are living in New York City and want a job at a farmer's market in Chinatown. There your job would require you to speak Chinese, since the majority of your customers wouldn't understand you if you spoke English. Or what if you are living in San Diego and want a job renting out surf boards? You'd better speak Spanish, or your business will suffer greatly. What if you were to try to get a job at Gallaudet University as a security guard, but didn't know ASL?
I think it all comes down to context. The United States doesn't have a national language the way other countries do, because we are a melting pot of races, religions, and languages. If your job involves regular contact with individuals who speak a given language, I think you should be able to use that language effectively, whether that language is English, Spanish, Japanese, German, or whatever. I suggest this article as a bit of interest on the growing Hispanic population (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-11-population-study_N.htm). What will happen when (notice that I say when, not if) the Hispanic population outgrows the non-Hispanic white population? Will our elementary school lessons be taught in Spanish if that is the language most accessible to the largest number of students? Or will we continue to impress English upon people who don't speak it? Working the education industry has shown me countless examples of students who would benefit from attending a Spanish-speaking school rather than an English-speaking one. Why don't those exist yet, anyway?
--Melissa
In response to Melissa's comments:
ReplyDeleteIt is true that many or most of the people in prison did come from abusive and/or alcohlic, poor minority homes. But there are also many people born into those circumstances that don't end up in prison. I know that racism is unfortunately alive and well in this country. I guess my question would be when do we expect/want people to stop using racism/poverty/addiction as a crutch or an excuse and start taking responsiblity for themselves? And yes, I totally agree that homeles and mentally ill people should have a much better support system. I just don't know what it would look like. Or where the money would come from. And I think it would be interesting to know how many homeless people choose not to go to the shelters, or take advantage of the resources that are available to them. As far as the mentally ill, again I would like to know how many choose not to take the meds available, or choose not to use therapy that is available to them. Again, to a certain extent these are choices that people make. So where is the line between blaming circumstances and personal responsiblity? I don't know.
As far as the language issue. Personally, if a job required me to do something I wasn't able to do (ie speak a different language, play an instrument in a band, fix an engine on a car) I wouldn't apply for the job, because I wouldn't be qualified. Is it the employer's responsibility to hire me and then train me when they could have hired someone who had the skills to begin with? I don't think so. I think an employer should be allowed to hire the best QUALIFIED individual for the job. If I wasn't qualified and I applied and didn't get hired, and someone who was qualified did get hired, would that allow me to file a discrimination claim? In today's society apparently it does.
Education: Again, I agree that our education system needs an overhaul. But I also know that we are laying off teachers, increasing class sizes, closing existing schools for lack of funding. I would love to hear any plans that you might have to get more money for education. I just don't see how we can create new schools, when we can't afford to keep the schools we already have open.