Freethought & Rationalism Archive

Toto · 07-11-2002, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Doubting Didymus:
<strong>Relatively harmless maybe not. Refusing to supply a service to a person on the basis of their starsign is bigotry. ....</strong>

I called it relatively harmless because 1) no one was denied service. It was just a matter of scheduling your haircut on the proper day of the week (the phase of the moon may have also entered into it, I forget) and 2) it never caught on, probably because people are not as stupid as they look. It's one thing to read the horoscopes in the newspaper for entertainment, or for making decisions that you might as well flip a coin for, and quite another thing to actually rearrange your life or even your haircutting schedule based on astrology.

Doubting Didymus · 07-11-2002, 03:39 PM

Sure no one WAS denied service, and no one HAS caught on, but it shouldn't be allowed to get even this far. How frustrating must it be to show up at this hairdresser and have her dictate to you the terms of her service based on her personal beliefs?

I'm sorry, but I really see a dark future in assigning people personality descriptions based on their date of birth. How is saying 'all people born in september are selfish' or something, any different from saying 'all black people are selfish'?

Autonemesis · 07-11-2002, 03:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Doubting Didymus:
How is saying 'all people born in september are selfish' or something, any different from saying 'all black people are selfish'?

To be fair, a proper horoscope is not that simplistic. But, yeah.

RogerLeeCooke · 07-11-2002, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Doubting Didymus:
<strong>

People have been refused employment at certain companies on the grounds of their starsign. Surely this is the most idiotic of bigotries, and I see this as the same thing in a slightly reduced form.</strong>

I'll bet that's one protected category Congress didn't think about when it wrote Title IX: Libras. Seriously, though, that means no one is protected against discrimination on the basis of birthday, but we are protected from discrimination based on birth year. Go figure.

hinduwoman · 07-16-2002, 05:54 PM

Which companies in West deny employment on basis of star-signs?

Doubting Didymus · 07-16-2002, 06:39 PM

I am not aware of any large companies (they probably have more sense than to have institutionalised discrimination), But I know of several small shops in my area alone that have advertised positions based on the Zodiac. It actually makes sense, if you believe in astrology, to populate your buisiness with "compatible" signed people. I base my allegation on an extrapolation of those companies I know of personally compared with my knowledge of the widespread nature of astrological beliefs.

Dont be so quick to dismiss this kind of thing. People who believe that they can accurately judge your personality before they have even met you are capable of all kinds of discrimination.

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07-11-2002, 03:39 PM	#12
Doubting Didymus Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: East Coast. Australia. Posts: 5,455	Sure no one WAS denied service, and no one HAS caught on, but it shouldn't be allowed to get even this far. How frustrating must it be to show up at this hairdresser and have her dictate to you the terms of her service based on her personal beliefs? I'm sorry, but I really see a dark future in assigning people personality descriptions based on their date of birth. How is saying 'all people born in september are selfish' or something, any different from saying 'all black people are selfish'?

07-16-2002, 05:54 PM	#15
hinduwoman Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: India Posts: 6,977	Which companies in West deny employment on basis of star-signs?

07-16-2002, 06:39 PM	#16
Doubting Didymus Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: East Coast. Australia. Posts: 5,455	I am not aware of any large companies (they probably have more sense than to have institutionalised discrimination), But I know of several small shops in my area alone that have advertised positions based on the Zodiac. It actually makes sense, if you believe in astrology, to populate your buisiness with "compatible" signed people. I base my allegation on an extrapolation of those companies I know of personally compared with my knowledge of the widespread nature of astrological beliefs. Dont be so quick to dismiss this kind of thing. People who believe that they can accurately judge your personality before they have even met you are capable of all kinds of discrimination.

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