[JeffRosenberg]

> Republicans are telling companies "You can't discriminate against employees because of their race or gender" and that the Democrats are saying "No, we need to discriminate against employees who are the bad race or the bad gender".

That's the way conservatives have always framed affirmative action, DEI, etc. It sounds satisfying, but it's overly simplistic and lacks historical nuance.

The problem is that we've actively discriminated against people based on their race and gender for centuries. We haven't just refused to give them jobs, we've refused people the opportunity to better themselves -- shut them out of education, the housing market, etc.

That sort of broad exclusion from economic and social capital can't be reversed overnight. So that means it's not enough to just say "okay, we'll stop discriminating against you starting now." We should aim to redress past wrongs.

Does that mean "discriminating against employees who are the bad race"? I don't see it that way, although I understand that some people might. I don't think anyone is arguing that we should hire or promote unqualified people. But if a few candidates are similarly qualified? As a white man, I can understand that for the entirety of our country's history, _my_ race and gender would have entitled me to preferential treatment. Having to cede that advantage to others for a time seems only fair.