Does not the tem negative discrimination seem a little redundant? According to Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, discrimination is defined as the act, practice, or an instance of distinguishing categorically rather than individually. There are many different categories of discrimination such as gender discrimination, racial discrimination, and homosexual discrimination. However, in order to place an act of discrimination into one of those categories, the effect must violate fundamental freedoms, human dignity, and human rights.
For thousands of years, women had been virtually silent. They were forced to depend on their husbands for financial support. It wasn't until the Woman's Suffrage Movement that women finally demanded equality. As a result of the Woman's Rights Movement, women were able to do anything such as vote and go to work. Even then, women were still being deprived of employment because they were seen as weak and helpless. In the case of Dothard v. Rawlinson (1977), Dianne Rawlinson was denied a corrections facility position based on the fact that she did not meet the weight and height requirements. She appealed to the Supreme Court and they ruled in Rawlinson's favor, stating that the requirements discriminated against women. The Supreme Court's decision helped establish that women were being denied the freedom that many had worked hard to receive years earlier. This "landmark" case helped open doors to women who wanted to be treated equally at jobs that were made exclusively for men, especially upper-class, white men.
Many of us faintly recall the distressing cry made by Rodney King Jr., the .
man whose beating by the Los Angeles Police Department was caught on tape. King, who was an unfortunate victim of racial profiling, cried out, "Can't we all just get along?" I think the reason we all cannot get along is racial discrimination. Let us not confuse this with racism, which is, according to Dictionary.
