Who is the most discriminated against group of people in America?

[Hubert Flottz]

Turn 60 and go out and try and find a job sometime.

Even if you are young, you can hardly find a job that pays a living wage, the way things are today. So if we take away the senior citizen's Social Security, Medicare and Pension, how are these folks going to survive. Native Americans were thought of as "Savage" people, but they respected loved and took care of their elderly and their disabled people. So who is civilized and who isn't? The Nazis gassed and shot the elderly and the infirm, but even that was more humane than turning our old folks and our disabled out to slowly suffer to death from starvation, sickness and no protection from the elements.

So where do you find a job where the employer wants to keep you around until you're 65 or 70 years old? It's hard to pull yourself up by your boot straps when you can't bend your back, or use your fingers anymore because old age, the elements and a lifetime of hard work, has taken such a toll on your body. The GOP claims to be the "Compassionate" Conservatives, but they look more uncivilized and hateful, every day.

[slackmaster]

1. Prematurely partially bald Sociology teachers

As someone who has experienced constructive disengagement in at least one job based on my age, I'm giving this one a K&R.

:kick:

I'm 53 years old.

[Hubert Flottz]

5. I saw age discrimination all my life at work.

As the years went by, it became more prevalent instead of less. I fought against it tooth and nail as a union Representative on the job. The older guys could NEVER do enough work to suit the boss, so the older guy didn't survive the layoff like the younger folks. They'd keep the older guy if he was a snitch, or a back stabber, but I never could play that game.

[slackmaster]

10. I found that it was impossible to prove. HR people and senior managers have it down to an art form.

They put me into one career dead-end after another, always finding an excuse to hand off new responsibilities to a much younger person who didn't cost as much.

They could always say "We felt xxx's background better prepared him for that job function" or some other vague thing that was not really possible to challenge.

[undeterred]

38. He/She was a "better fit".

:puke:

[w8liftinglady]

31. my partner has seen age discrimination against many teachers

he is 58, and says he is just glad he has a job. He knows a lot of near-retirement age teachers who can't find full-time work.

[hobbit709]

2. Turn 50 and that happens.

especially turn 50 and have health issues-I speak from personal experience. Oh well, i can file for SS in 6 months.

[Obamanaut]

12. I went through the correctional officer training class for the Department

of Corrections at age 53 (in 1995), and worked with them for 7 years, and then retired because I was eligible.

Since then I've been hired and have quit three jobs, two of which had various medical and other benefits.

Now, I'm tired of working. I go to the gym five days a week, and work in the yard.

Two weeks ago, out of the blue, I was offered a job as gym attendant. Turned it down because I'm tired of working. No pay, benefits, or hours were discussed - the conversation didn't last that long.

[sudopod]

30. Want a cookie? A high five? nt

[Obamanaut]

49. I don't eat cookies, and there are many people who are bemoaning

the fate of the over 50 or over 60 crowd. "We can't get jobs" they say. Or "No one will hire us because we are old" they moan.

It isn't necessarily so. Some just sound like they have given up. That attitude is a crock!

There are personal anecdotes about that very thing in this thread in particular, and DU forums in general, and my anecdote is a rebuttal.

But you can take your cookie and put it where it will do the most good.

[sudopod]

50. I enjoy cookies almost as much as I do bootstraps.

You do realize that this phenomenon isn't documented solely by a handful of people on DU sharing their stories, right?

[Obamanaut]

53. You do realize that if there are those on DU who can, and do, find

jobs after 50 or 60, then it stands to reason that there are those OUTSIDE of DU who can, and do, as well.

It works both ways you see.

It is possible that the people who are/have been successful in maintaining employment after those ages simply don't have the time or inclination to post about them.

I have the time, because I don't want to work any more. As a matter of fact, today I went to the gym early, then mowed the yard at my vacant house, and then had lunch and a nap.

No cookies, so keep them and do with them what you will.

[sudopod]

54. So you're saying this isn't a real problem? nt

[Obamanaut]

63. For those who experience any difficulty with employment issues, it is a

real problem - regardless of age.

For those who do not experience the difficulty, it is not.

So, no, I am not saying it is not a real problem. I am saying it is not a real problem for EVERYONE. I gave you my personal anecdote. With more than 300 million people in the US, I hardly think I am unique - do you?

[sudopod]

64. I'm afraid I don't see what you're getting at, then.

I'm glad you're doing ok, more power to you, but based on the EEOC site, age discrimination is almost as big a problem as gender and race discrimination. Why post that in a thread like this?

It's like going to someone's parent's funeral and bragging about how healthy your mom is.

[Obamanaut]

68. I am getting at this. Some people say, on this very board and even in this

thread that people over 60, or even 50, can not find work.

I gave you my personal experience of starting a new job at 53 with the Department of Corrections. There was a 52 year old in my training class, and the remainder of the more than 30 trainees were under 35.

Older people CAN get jobs. Employers DO hire them.

I even told you of getting other jobs and an offer of one (not a great job, but a job nonetheless) as proof of this, and you asked if I wanted a cookie. I can work if I want to. Now at this stage of life I CHOOSE not to.

I imagine in this huge country there are others just like me who can work but choose not to.

[sudopod]

75. There were people had work throughout the Great Depression

That doesn't mean there wasn't a problem.

*shrug*

[Hassin Bin Sober]

92. Your "personal anecdote" involves you securing a "government job"

Where you are far less likely to experience age discrimination - not to mention union busting.

Edit to add: is it a union job? Let me guess were you a cop before corrections?

[sudopod]

56. I would encourage you to look at these prosecution statistics from the EEOC

http://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/index.cfm

The monetary judgments against employers for violating the Age Discrimination in Employment Act are of the same order as other types of discrimination, including discrimination by gender and by race.

[Obamanaut]

65. There are those who discriminate, and those who do not. There are

those who are discriminated against, and those who are not.

As I said in another post, with more than 300 million people in the US, do you think that my personal anecdote is unique?

[sudopod]

67. Ok? I really don't get what your point is.

Why tell everyone in this thread how awesome your life is?

Would you tell a guy who just had an amputation about how pumped up you are about a marathon you're going to run in?

[Hassin Bin Sober]

94. Not to mention he got himself government work.

There's a reason government jobs are more unionized and less likely to discriminate illegally based on age. Because it's the frickin government.

[sudopod]

95. oh snap nt

[Hassin Bin Sober]

97. And he was probably government before the corrections job. My guess is cop.

Hence the ability to get hired at that age and retire in seven years. Now collecting a nice pension from the government telling everyone to pull themselves up by their bootstraps.

[sudopod]

99. Sounds like Congress. lol nt

[ChiciB1]

69. And It Also Sounds Like You Have Someone On "The Inside" Helping You Out!

You know, there AREN'T many people who can make the same statements you're making. Either you're lucky or you might not be telling ALL of the story.

I don't know, but most people I know who are older can't get a job. And if they can, they're bagging groceries at Publix BEFORE the kids get out of school!

[riderinthestorm]

79. On DU, you are 1/173,485 DU members.

One anecdote out 173,485. Sorry but that's not compelling enough to prove to me that we don't have an employment crisis in our country...

[Sarah Ibarruri]

3. I totally agree. nt

[N7Shepard]

4. I'd say transgender people who don't "pass" and older people like you said.

[readmoreoften]

59. Transgender people who do pass don't fair too well, either.

Even if no one notices that you're born a different sex on the street, your ID and records tend to tell a different story.

[N7Shepard]

112. Those can be changed (ask me I know)

[readmoreoften]

118. It's far more complicated than trans people "can" or "can't" change documents

It depends on your location, level of medical transition, income, and birth sex. Trans women in NY or CA are in a much different position than transmen in TX. Trans persons who can afford SRS and legal care are in a totally different place than those who can't.

[Coyote_Bandit]

6. Turn 60?

My experience is that age discrimination in employment begins at about 40.

[mrcheerful]

7. Try being disabled and over 50, talk about a double wammy then add to it

lung damage from breathing chemicals in the work place.

[Hubert Flottz]

11. Working people are disposable to the bean counting CEOs

Same way the SS Bean Counters looked at it in 1939.

[Hydra]

70. I think that's more the problem

Employers don't look at another person and think "human"

They think "How exploitable?"

[anneboleyn]

78. The disabled and the ill-- there is not one "disability studies" dept. at any college

One would think that given the number of disabled people, and chronically and/or terminally ill people. it seems that there would be a program that looks at their position in society, historically and presently.

[mrcheerful]

124. There are only 2 types of disabled that the US wants to hear about 1) the brave

blind or wheelchair bound that works 2) the guy that is faking a disability and therefore disabled shouldn't be on the SS rolls because the blind/guy in a wheelchair have jobs.

[socialshockwave]

8. Here, it's the exact opposite.

Younger people bear the brunt of every joke, are the first to be laid off and are treated as expendable.

[Control-Z]

108. What age is considered

"younger people"?

[TransitJohn]

9. Overweight elderly atheists...just a stab in the dark. eom

n/t

[Hubert Flottz]

13. That's three strikes in today's "Civilization"

But we preach "human rights" to every nation on the globe. Beacon of Bullshit-R-Us...

[LiberalEsto]

14. I'm 59, unemployed for 3 years

I think the problem starts much earlier these days. I've had two job interviews in the past 3 years. Both times they seemed pretty happy with me until they saw me - an older woman.

[shanti]

104. older women

or "women of a certain age", are pretty much invisible.

[sofa king]

15. Just add "Native American" to any group you care to name...

...and you'll have a better answer. Everything that's happened to you has already happened to them a dozen times, and the reason why The Man can screw you so easily today is because the courts have eroded the freedoms of all Americans by allowing the greedy to screw the Indians for 200+ years.

Now you know a little bit about what it's like.

[Hubert Flottz]

18. I know a lot about the things our government did to the Native Americans.

It's really sad. And I see the same things happening to us all now. Lie after lie after lie, trick after trick, betrayal after betrayal. I feel a bit of Tecumseh's pain and I know he was right to reach the conclusions he reached. Our word should be "nothing but the truth," but the word of our leaders is "created reality" to suit their grand designs.

[RedCloud]

44. If you read the cavalry reports from the "campaign" against the Nez Perce

it sounds so Orwellian, decades before 1984.

[Liberal_in_LA]

41. +100

[bemildred]

48. +1.

However that's 500 years.

[lumberjack_jeff]

58. +2 n/t

[katnapped]

16. The rich, of course!

They just can't seem to catch a break these days!

:sarcasm:

[spinbaby]

17. Nope.

Poor people are the most discriminated against group in America. If you're old and rich, people adore you; if you're any age and poor, you're a lazy, grasping ingrate with no sense of responsibility.

[Hubert Flottz]

19. And if you're old and poor you're totally screwn.

[ensho]

20. women

nt

[Remember Me]

57. and in part, precisely because it's so "invisible"

just as we see on this thread

[meow mix]

21. pot smokers, what other group is rounded up in the millions for prisons?

:shrug:
or not allowed to work, have healthcare, forced to hide like a mutant.

[krabigirl]

71. this. medical cannabis users.

[jberryhill]

22. Dead People

[ProgressiveProfessor]

23. GLBTs in certain minority communites

[hunter]

24. Look at the U.S. prison population, that's all you have to do.

The vast majority of them are people who fell through the great gaps in U.S. society's social safety nets.

[Hubert Flottz]

25. Reagan had a large hand in the rise in the prison population when

he had all the mental health hospitals and clinics closed down. That contributed to the homeless population too.

Look for the source of almost every bad thing the government has done to the people in this country since Abe Lincoln was shot and the GOP will generally be at the root of it. How the churches could back a gang of liars, crooks and cutthroats, the likes of the GOP, is beyond me.(too much Corporate Kool-Aid I guess)

[Romulox]

28. The escalation of the War on Drugs is the biggest grower of our prison population

Every President since Nixon has been guilty, including major ramp ups in prosecutions under Clinton, and now, Obama. :shrug:

[L0oniX]

26. Cannibals are people too.

[femrap]

51. Let's eat the rich!!! nt

[StevesRedLens]

90. Cook them in a big ol' pot

But I suspect their hides are too tough to eat, due to all their years of hatred. Their organs are likely poisonous as well, since they are just so mean to the core!

[StevesRedLens]

91. Of course I was talking about the rich, forgot to mention that...

[femrap]

117. Well....we couldn't

eat their hearts since they have none.

I just learned that there are huge protests going on in Israel...working people and students demanding lower rents and Social Justice. The protests started on Rothschild Ave. in Tel Aviv and now are moving to other cities. Huge tent cities have sprung up. I don't have the link but a google could inform you.

I had nothing of this. You? It truly is a Global War of the Rich against the Working People.

[Hubert Flottz]

107. Do you know what one cannibal said to the other cannibal when

they were eating the clown?

[Romulox]

27. The answer is obviously the poor. nt

[divvy]

29. Old, Ugly, and Mentally ill

[bemildred]

32. Poor people, hands down. nt

[undeterred]

36. [phone]

[undeterred]

37. [phone]

[slackmaster]

39. Poverty is often the end result of discrimination

That applies to people of all descriptions.

[bemildred]

40. Poverty IS discrimination. nt

[PeaceNikki]

33. It's not a contest. The one you're a member of will typically feel like the "most".

There are PLENTY of groups discriminated against. Name a group... it's never ok and always awful. I'm sorry you're experiencing this.

[loyalsister]

34. I think it takes a variety of forms

People of color in the US still experience significant institutional discrimination that is largely disregarded. Lately, I have been seeing outright hate directed toward people with Asian roots.

All people who are poor experience job, education, and social discrimination. (at least).

People with disabilities- physical, medical, educational, social, and attitudinal

..... are the ones I am most familiar with.

The jokes!!
Groups who have not been offered or have simply been refused respect (often in the name of free speech).

Agism, homophobia, disability (especially mental illness), and religious phobias are rampant, socially accepted, and even defended.

The media especially is full of jokes, and stereotypical & demeaning portrayals that are very rarely questioning.

Disrespect for some groups because of their status and or conditions is discrimination.

We have a lot of work ahead of us.

[Dulcinea]

35. The unemployed.

The jobless are invisible. No one cares about them.

[Hubert Flottz]

46. It really does seem like that is the case.

The people in Washington all talk the talk but VERY few walk the walk. And the Free Traitors are about to give even more American jobs away.

So where do the old folks run to, to get all those jobs that the GOP claims all those tax cuts are creating? Show Me The JOBS!

The jobs are not even there for the young, the middle aged, or the elderly. SHOW ME THE JOBS.

[yurbud]

42. anyone whose parents weren't rich enough to give them a trust fund

[October]

66. :) Good one!!!

[H2O Man]

43. I am.

[Fuzz]

45. The White Heterosexual Male! Hands Down!

:evilgrin: :evilgrin:

[GillesDeleuze]

47. ..atheists.. nt

[LanternWaste]

52. I imagine it's whatever demographic minority we are a part of...

I imagine it's whatever demographic minority we are a part of and most identify with at any given moment...

[Hubert Flottz]

55. I guess the people on that list of folks in the paper every day...

who can't shop at Wal-Mart anymore, are the only ones who don't really feel the pain of discrimination in the 21st century.

[readmoreoften]

60. It doesn't matter. We ought to stand in solidarity against all oppressions.

[riderinthestorm]

80. [phone] (how many zeros can I add??!!) nt

[Octafish]

61. The senior citizens should bethe most VALUED group.

In addition to all the work they (most all) did to make this a better nation for their kids and grandkids, they contain wisdom which only comes from having experienced life.

A saying, I'm wont to repeat:

"Young men think old men are fools, but old men know young men are fools." - George Chapman

[Scruffy1]

62. The poor.

[Number23]

72. Oh God. This thread.... there aren't enough facepalms in the world

You have a legitimate point and I agree that there is no doubt that seniors are discriminated against. But to have a "who's discriminated against more" contest (who the hell is the "winner" in that?) is just absurd. And some of the comments here reflect the weakness of your premise.

Their are countless studies that reflect which groups are most discriminated against and not just in jobs, but in housing, education, economic opportunities etc. Seniors will be that on that list, but minorities of all ages will dominate it.

[MrScorpio]

73. Adult men who live in their mom's basement

You never want to be one of those guys

[Major Hogwash]

109. Excuse me? I'm only in the basement because she said her room wasn't big enough for 2 beds.

And she said she wasn't willing to share her bed because we weren't Mormons, so I had no other choice but to move down here.

Thankyouverymuch.

[distantearlywarning]

74. Old, fat, mentally ill, and transgender

Couldn't pick just one as the "most discriminated against" because they're all pretty bad. And God help you if you fall into more than one of those categories. :-(

[anneboleyn]

76. The disabled and chronically ill.

The disabled and chronically ill do suffer terrible discrimination, in spite of the laws designed to protect them.

[Odin2005]

77. Disabled people.

[Violet_Crumble]

81. I can't imagine going out looking for work at 60...

I'm retiring at 60, or 62 at the latest....

[handmade34]

82. it helps to be able to imagine

and have empathy... because there are lots of us

[Violet_Crumble]

85. What's yr problem? I've got no idea why that was aimed at me...

What in anything I said produced that sort of response?

[handmade34]

88. no problem, no angst

just a general comment and response to your post because you noted the ability to retire early... it wasn't meant as an attack on you... just a thought that it helps when we can have empathy for those that suffer things that we don't have to go through... it's a very diverse world with many differing concerns, as we can see by the vast number of conditions people list as being discriminated for.

[Violet_Crumble]

93. It is a very diverse world....

I live in Australia, where by the time I'm due to retire, the minimum retirement age will be 58. I definitely do have empathy for people in the US who are in the position where they're forced to look for work at an age where in my country most would be looking forward to retirement. The system in the US sucks, and especially so given the age-discrimination that greets people who look for work...

[donheld]

83. People with Developmental Disabilities.

[Name removed]

84. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[StevesRedLens]

86. Depends on where you live I think

In my area blacks are still discriminated against, although discreetly, but Hispanic folks are hated by many and are discriminated against quite often.

LGBT folks are quite discriminated against as well. I don't see much of a change in attitudes over LGBT issues over at least the last 30 years.

BUT, also discriminated against (or at least very much looked down upon) are: the disabled, anyone living here but not BORN here, ANYBODY from a foreign country (unless they are a doctor, of which there are many from foreign countries), any male with long hair (they are considered 'hippies'), those wanting to protect the environment, those who want to bring arts and other skilled artisians to this area, those who stick up for worker rights, those listening to "alternative types of music, those for abortion and womens rights....I could go on and on. I live in a very bigoted area of the country. Which is southeast Kentucky.

I am definitely not proud of the fact but the truth is the truth. So imagine ME, a left-wing, liberal socialist living here!! There are actually many of us (with my mindset here) but we normally keep a low profile and socialize amongst ourselves. However, we do pick certain 'battles' to get involved in. I am actually working toward setting up a economic/worker rights project among my people here. We will see how it goes...

[mbee]

87. The country was set up to discriminate against the

NON-ELITE! We are here to serve the elite in whatever way they see fit. The government is here to make us fall into line! The Republicans don't make any bones about it and the Democrats just want to throw out a bone. There is a difference between the two parties, but only a slight one as they both work for the same segment of society.

[guitar man]

89. right now

The 99% of us that weren't born with a silver fucking spoon in our mouths. :grr:

[handmade34]

100. ...

“The disposition to admire, and almost to worship, the rich and the powerful, and to despise, or, at least, to neglect persons of poor and mean condition is the great and most universal cause of the corruption of our moral sentiments.”

–Adam Smith

Scottish political economist (1723-1790)

[guitar man]

113. thanks!

I love it, will save it for future reference :hi:

[Deb]

96. children

and I'm no spring chicken :)

[ScreamingMeemie]

98. No matter how much we say it's someone else, even you at your age, it's GLBT folk.

And it will be until all people have equal rights under the law. I am sorry for those that struggle, but your loved one can accompany you to the surgical suite when you have a hip replaced when you are straight. I am slowly suffering because, at middle age, I am a pre-exister who cannot afford the high cost of the "emergency plans" under the health care "reform". Even so, GLBT is discriminated against more than I.

[ruggerson]

101. Christians

:P

[divvy]

115. Isn't that called "Persecution"?

Still funny though, so many of them do feel discriminated against as if they really were.

[shanti]

102. k&r

and there are a lot of us in this group here on DU!

[TK421]

103. singles n/t

[Manifestor_of_Light]

105. Lots of them.

Two that are never discussed: Short people and people who wear glasses.

[bobdawg]

106. age discrimination and atheist discrimination are neck and neck.

[Bluebear]

110. I don't care. The oppression Olympics is always a bad idea. Stand against ALL discrimination.

[Hubert Flottz]

111. You are right.

Genocide and Crimes Against Humanity

snip...

In the spring of 1942 some EG units were equipped with gas vans for the easier "resettlement" of women, children, the old and infirm. Exhaust fumes were piped back into the camouflaged van. By the time the van reached its destination, the passengers were asphyxiated.

Upon conviction for their crimes against humanity at Nuremberg, EG leaders showed no remorse. They argued that Hitler had declared Germany was fighting a defensive war and they were bound to follow his orders. In a "total war" against Bolshevism, they contended, all potential enemies had to be eliminated by every possible means. Secret killing squads were a military necessity. They left no doubt that they would do it again.

In delivering his judgment, Presiding Judge Michael Musmanno noted: ". . . Mankind pleads for an understanding which will prevent anything like this happening again" (1949, p. 509). Nazi Einsatzgruppen wrote the blackest page in human history. Their cruel deeds illustrate the dangers of blind obedience to an authoritarian leader who defies the rule of law. Read More...

http://www.enotes.com/genocide-encyclopedia/einsatzgruppen

When discrimination becomes excepted government policy, things get out of hand quickly.

[ProgressiveEconomist]

114. GLBT disabled Native-American Hispanic deaf women immigrants of African-American descent!

Who was the wheelchair-bound Hispanic woman character on a short-lived 70s prime-time soap? I think Greg Mullavey and/or Mary Kay Place may have been among the stars of the show.

Anyway, she was the inspiration for my reply.

[FreeJoe]

116. My bets...

Black Nazis, Lesbian Jewish Al Quaeda members, and Republicans that behave like Christ.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

119. The ones that cuss out fig trees for not fruiting in the winter?

Those Republicans???


:wtf:

[Drew Richards]

120. Native American's ARE the most discriminated against

No matter their age...

[GoCubsGo]

121. It's no better for us in our late 40s-50s either.

I speak from experience.

[Blue_In_AK]

122. Maybe I could get a job if I was looking for one (I'm 64)

since I was an exceptional legal secretary and I still know a lot of lawyers in town, but they sure wouldn't be getting the sharp mind and nimble fingers (and the patience) that they got 20 or 30 years ago. I'm sure it's much worse for people who did actual physical labor for 40 years. It benefits everyone for us to drop out of the job market. Someone else can have the jobs.

I'm convinced one reason they keep the wars going is because there are no jobs at home for all the soldiers. It's a sad situation.

[sixmile]

123. The Ugly

Try being ugly in America. Not fun.