Without Distinction of Race or Sex

[Moo]

S.S. May, 2025. Written by PJS

This is a very well written & researched article, however, I take objection to PJS’s views on ‘oppressed people’ & support for ‘positive discrimination’.
Firstly, I feel we should be against positive discrimination (as well as negative). Poor white people don’t see talk of ‘white privilege’ as an attack on their ‘rights’, they see it as an attack on them due to their skin colour.

While certain groups of people (on average) & individuals undoubtedly have harder lives under capitalism than others, the entire capitalist class oppresses the entire working class. We shouldn’t fall into the bourgeois trap of fighting for equality among the proletariat (based on skin colour, etc.), not that that’s achievable anyway. Our enemy is the capitalist class (they screw us all over, though some more than others).

None of us are free until we are all free.

[DJP]

Where in that article does the author say that they support ‘positive discrimination’?

[Moo]

The author doesn’t actually write that he supports positive discrimination, however, he heavily implies that he does in these quotes:

‘Critical race theory [. . .] argues that disadvantaged groups will never get a fair shake unless a little positive discrimination is introduced into the mix. As things stand, the system will always promote whites over more talented ethnic candidates.’

‘To [economically disadvantaged whites], any positive discrimination in favour of other disadvantaged groups, together with talk of ‘white privilege’, will seem like a wholesale liberal attack on their ‘rights’. Populists like Trump are experts in exploiting such concerns.’

• This reply was modified 2 weeks, 5 days ago by Moo.

[DJP]

Seems to me those lines are reported what others have said, rather than expressing support.

[Moo]

In the first quote – PJS states what Critical Race Theory argues, but doesn’t argue against it. The sentence: ‘As things stand, the system will always promote whites over more talented ethnic candidates,’ is presented as a fact – not as a group of people’s opinion.

As for the second quote, poor white people won’t see positive discrimination in favour of other poor people as an attack on their ‘rights’ – they will see it as being unfair.

[DJP]

I still think you’re making assumptions that aren’t in the text.

Perhaps write a letter to the Standard so that PJS can reply?

[Moo]

I was originally going to do that, but decided to come on here instead because I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it.

If PJS doesn’t want to reply on here, then I will write to the ‘Standard. Though, it would have to be for July’s ‘Standard because it’s a bit too late now to write a letter (& for PJS to write a reply) for the June edition.

[h.moss@swansea.ac.uk]

Yes, write to the Standard. There aren’t enough letters in the Standard. It’s good for debate and copy.

[Moo]

Alright, then. I will write to the ‘Standard in the next couple of weeks.

[Author]

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