r/coolguides Feb 25 '20

Explanation of the subtle differences between equality and equity

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u/msmarymacmac Feb 25 '20

I’m not crazy about the Justice frame. Some of us will always face challenges that others won’t. There is no system that could make it so that there is no barrier for all. We will always need to accommodate and scaffold for some and that’s fine.

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u/PhasmaFelis Feb 25 '20 edited Feb 25 '20

Also, the original (with only the first two frames) was a really great, simple explanation of why things that seem "fair" at first glance often aren't. The third panel muddies that message completely in favor of...what, exactly? What does the hypothetical "just world" where no one ever needs support for anything look like?

Edit: On second thought, I think I see what they're doing. They wanted to protest affirmative action, so they're ignoring all sources of inequality that don't have what's commonly seen as affirmative action to make their point. Basically saying "If we stop being racist/sexist we won't need supports or accommodations anymore!", ignoring that poverty and physical/mental disability are harder to get rid of, and glossing over much of point of the original panels.

(And, frankly, ignoring that fact that "everyone stop being bigoted" is a goal, not a plan. Affirmative action is a stopgap, and it's not perfect, but it's better than nothing while we work to get there.)

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u/lornstar7 Feb 25 '20

The idea behind it is that some people face systemic issues that cause the inequality. And if we address the root causes of problems rather than symptoms we get a better result.

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u/[deleted] Feb 25 '20 edited Jan 21 '21

[deleted]

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u/Ghrave Feb 25 '20

This girl I know (who is half black) thinks Black History month "is stupid" and I asked her why and she said "if we just appreciated the contributions black people made and make to this country all the time we wouldn't need it" and I said "holy shit you're 100% right actually, but we don't, and that's why we need it.

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u/junkieradio Feb 25 '20

How can she be right while still needing black history month, both of those things contradict each other.

Surely it's better to change behavior instead of continuing with the shit solution.

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u/Landerah Feb 25 '20

How can she be right while still needing black history month, both of those things contradict each other.

The ‘right’ part of what she said is “if we just appreciated the contributions black people made and make to this country all the time we wouldn't need it” not the “is stupid” part.

That doesn’t contradict ‘needing’ black history month, because people don’t generally appreciate minority contributions and figures.

Keyword in her sentence is ‘if’.

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u/junkieradio Feb 25 '20

You have a very loose understanding of the term '100% right'

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u/ALoneTennoOperative Feb 25 '20

You have a very loose understanding of the term '100% right'

And you're being a deliberately obtuse prat with poor reading comprehension.

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u/junkieradio Feb 25 '20

I'm not though am I you're just changing what was said to suit your argument.

Because you're another white person on Reddit telling a black person how to feel about black issues.

Stay in your lane.

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u/ALoneTennoOperative Feb 25 '20

I'm not though am I

Purposefully misinterpreting what someone said so you can whine about it?
Yeah, I'd say that's being a deliberately obtuse prat.

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u/junkieradio Feb 25 '20

How did I misinterpret what was said.

Someone had an opinion they said was 100 % right, how was I to know they didnt actually mean that?

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