Is discrimination against whites a problem in Arizona?
State senator says yes
Like many things State Senator David Farnsworth is getting attention for in a recent binge of public statements, anyone who's curious what his agenda might be can also take notice that Republican Mesa Mayor John Giles is also mentioned in Allie Bice's article. Both of these local politicians who have managed to somehow get elected to public office have been the subject of featured posts on this blog on discrimination and equality.
Both politicians have challenges to deal with when faith-based assertions impinge on their duties and responsibilities in the public sphere while they both might be adhering to religious principles guiding their behavior in private life.
Where do they draw the line? Perhaps somewhere in THE FOG of the confusion both are trying to kick-up in the air - on the radio, in print, on the web and all over social media. LDS pioneers who laid claim to the territory to establish and "found" the City of Mesa in 1878 have ruled here as a majority in government for generations. As far as the change in the demographics - and the shifts of population - over those generations has changed dramatically where Mormons have become a minority yet still exercise a majority control in an increasingly diverse population close to 500,000 people who live here now. Let's take it to a new level . . .
The times they are a' changing - here we see the dynamics of the power transition in process where FACT-CHECKING levels the playing field of politics.
__________________________________________________________________________
WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT: Whether reverse discrimination — discrimination against majority groups — is more prevalent than discrimination against minority groups in Arizona.
__________________________________________________________________________
ANALYSIS: Arizona law prohibits discrimination in employment, housing, public accommodation and voting on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age or national origin or on the basis of disability.
Mesa Mayor John Giles wants to see Arizona’s nondiscrimination law expanded in the 2018 legislative session to include the LGBT community and veterans, according to a Dec. 4 KJZZ article.
State Sen. David Farnsworth, R-Mesa, responded in the piece and said the statute shouldn’t be expanded because of "reverse discrimination."
QUESTION: Are brothers in the family of those faithful to The Mormon Church moving to different sides of the political spectrum?
The statements below are direct excerpt from yesterday's report:
Farnsworth said "reverse discrimination" occurs when members of a minority group are hired or receive a promotion or reward because of their race over those who are white, or part of a majority group.
He said — based on his own experiences — he felt, “If there was a promotion to be had it was usually given to a minority, rather than a white male.”
Farnsworth said members of the LGBT community also get special treatment, adding, “Everybody ought to stand on their merits of their qualifications.”
“I’m not in support of adding to our discrimination laws, because I think they do more harm than good,” Farnsworth said.
_________________________________________________________________________________
THE FACTS Presented by reporter Allie Bice :
> Cases of discrimination are tracked at the state level by Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s Office.
> Instances of what Farnsworth calls "reverse discrimination" are counted in the data
(Most instances investigated by the attorney general concerned employment, with 77 complaints about racial discrimination. Sixteen of those 77 racial discrimination complaints were made by a white person alleging discrimination.
Thirty-two complaints of racial discrimination in housing were investigated in the most recent annual report. Five of the 32 complaints were from a white person alleging discrimination.
There were 10investigations of racial discrimination involving public accommodation, but none included a white person alleging discrimination.)
> Combined, there were 21 complaints in the last year of white people claiming racial discrimination, which amounts to 17.6 percent of all racial discrimination cases.
> Discrimination also is tracked by cities with nondiscrimination ordinances, such as Phoenix and Tempe here in central Arizona and by Tucson in southern Arizona.
__________________________________________________________________________
Blogger Note:
Mesa has not approved a Non-Discrimination Ordinance although Mayor John Giles has repeatedly stated starting during his first election campaign that "It's the right thing to do"
Denise Heap, a publicly-declared lesbian who was adopted after birth by a prominent Mormon family here in Mesa, while Chairperson of the City of Mesa's Human Rights Advisory Board, was responsible for the publication of a survey report of discrimination here in Mesa conducted by the respected ASU's Morison Institute.
A name change to the Human Relations Advisory Board does not change its fundamental mission
The Inclusion and Diversity Report can be accessed here as a PDF file:
_________________________________________________________________________________
"Create an inclusive, respectful, and equitable community."
 | The Human Relations Advisory Board advises the City Council about racial, religious, ethnic, cultural, disability or other human relations issues affecting the City of Mesa and delivery of City services to Mesa residents, businesses, and visitors.
The Board recommends policies to eliminate discrimination and prejudice and to promote mutual understanding and harmony.
The Board serves as a public forum for citizen input on human relations issues.
Meeting are held on the fourth Wednesday of the month at 6:00pm at the City Council Chambers (57 E 1st St) or at other locations throughout the City.
Members are appointed for staggered terms of three years and represent the City's diverse population.
Call 480-644-5432 for information. |
___________________________________________________________
No comments:
Post a Comment