Descripciones mejoradas de Syndetics:

Much as we "select" computer settings by default--reflexively, without thinking, and sometimes without realizing there are other options--we often discriminate by default as well. And just as default computer settings tend to become locked in or entrenched as the standard, discrimination by default creates a situation in which disparate outcomes are expected, accepted, and taken for granted. The killing of Amadou Diallo, racial disparities in medical care, the dominance of Whites and men in certain professions, and even the uneven media attention paid to crimes depending on their victims' race and class, all might be cases of discrimination by, or as, default.
Wang contends that, today, most discrimination occurs by default and not design, making legal prohibitions that focus on those who discriminate out of ill will inadequate to redress the largest share of modern discrimination. She draws on social psychology to detail three ways in which unconscious assumptions can lead to discrimination, showing how they play out in a range of everyday settings. Wang then demonstrates how these dynamics interact in medical care to produce an invisible, self-fulfilling, and self-perpetuating prophecy of racial disparity. She goes on to suggest ways in which institutions and individuals might recognize, interrupt, and override the discriminatory default.

Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

CHOICE Review

Wang (law, Univ. of Pittsburgh) draws extensively on social psychological studies to argue that most US racial and gender discrimination does not arise from malice and hatred, but from taken-for-granted societal "defaults." Just as computer software comes equipped with default settings that shape the parameters of its performance, the default settings of US society transmit and reinforce entrenched racial and sexual biases. Societal inequities are embedded in numerous structural disparities, unconscious racial myths, and widespread failures of imagination. US law is an ineffective tool for redressing complex discrimination injuries because it is designed to punish intentionally inflicted harms rather than systemic injustices carried out in conformity with mainstream values and assumptions. Wang advocates institutional reforms to create a more race- and gender-neutral legal system. For example, she believes that putting jury instructions into clear language, rather than legal terminology, would help jurors resist falling into the "discriminatory default habit." Attorneys should explicitly discuss racial issues when exposing unconscious belief structures is necessary to prevent injustice. This book is very clearly written and does a fine job of revealing hidden social, medical, and legal inequalities. ^BSumming Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. T. H. Koenig Northeastern University