position after the first interview due to age discrimination?

And thanks to the EEO, I have spent nearly all my adult life having to fight for jobs against quotas, etc, because you see, I’m a white Anglo-Saxon middle-aged male (well, not anymore at 50). Perhaps even a bit bitter about it, Joan. This thing you seem to think is so wonderful has cost me plenty. No one is supposed to be discriminated against, ever. If it were actually true in practice, we wouldn’t have to fight for equality and we certainly wouldn’t need EEO or any other such legislation. We are regulated to death in this country! Soon, you will not be allowed to die, except on certain days of the month, or your family will have to pay a fine.

Seriously, everyone has the same opportunities. It shouldn’t matter the color of your skin, gender, or age, and we shouldn’t have to fight against quotas either! We need less government interference, not more. We should all be allowed to compete fairly and on an even playing field. The field is not leveled by legislation that protects certain groups and not everyone else. Everyone was protected in the very beginning of this country. Along the way, we have had to make a few adjustments until we changed our way of thinking.

At this point, we don’t need more laws to protect each little individual group. After all, we are all supposed to be Americans. I know I was born here and so were my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents. We don’t call ourselves German Americans, or Welsh Americans, or French Americans, or Old Americans, or Young Americans, or Girl Americans, or Boy Americans, etc, etc, ad nauseum.

I don’t look to the government to provide a single thing for me. Not a job, not a paycheck, not food. Nobody owes me anything and if I can’t get a decent job because I am “too old” it’s up to me to create something to pay my bills and provide for my family. More importantly, it’s up to me to prioritize my life to make sure I’m not being wasteful. It’s pathetic to see so many in this country on food stamps or public health care who walk into the doctor’s office with a $200 cell phone, a $300 manicure, and highlights in their hair!

Then, to top it off, they have the audacity to act like they are “owed” everything and everyone is expected to kowtow around them and cater to their whims! It’s despicable what this country has become in so many ways. You want new laws? How about limits on benefits? How about just requirements to continue to receive benefits? Maybe then, those who are really trying would get the extensions they deserve and the rest might have to buck-up and do something instead of living on the dole.

Now, I will step down off the political soapbox and let someone else rant. Thank you for your time. And Don, I hope you’re still here, too.