Bravely, I Cope With Rejection
In the comments, John draws attention to this item from Personnel Today, a publication for the inhabitants of HR departments, regarding recruitment criteria for the Royal Air Force:
I’m assuming, perhaps charitably, that the word “useless” was with reference to meeting “diversity” targets. The word in question was deployed by former head of recruitment Elizabeth Nicholl, who resigned in protest at such targets being “impossible” to achieve. But still, an unhappy phrasing.
Much of the article covers ground that may be familiar to regular readers:
Because brownness and womb-having are much more important, obviously.
At which point, I’m tempted to ask how these target percentages relate to any actual expressed interest or aptitude – say, among school-leavers – or to any tactical utility, according to which an unusually high number of women and racial minorities would somehow confer a military advantage. Or are they, as seems to be the case, entirely arbitrary?
The paragraph immediately above was posted as a comment on the Personnel Today website. It was held for moderation, then disappeared.
Update, via the comments:
TomJ notes the proliferation throughout the RAF of pointedly gender-neutral terms, along with the ensuing complications, adding: “These are but annoyances, though they no doubt absorbed a lot of admin effort that could have been better directed… It now seems somewhat indicative.” Indeed. Time and resources better spent on the actual, you know, function of the organisation. Which is not, lest we forget, race-and-sex bean-counting.
Perhaps we’re to hope that such frivolous uses of time and resources will result in mere distraction, a loss of focus, and some inadvertent comedy. As if distractedness and waste, and chasing futility, might be the best available options. As opposed to the more typical effect of such endeavours, and of the mindset they reflect, which is the active and rapid corrosion of almost anything they touch, not least in terms of realism, standards, and competence.
Update 2:
In the comments, Jeff Guinn adds,
Gaining entrance to pilot training requires doing pretty well on a battery of aptitude tests. There is a very strong correlation between performance on the tests and likelihood of successfully completing pilot training… In particular, mechanical reasoning, spatial orientation, and math skills are strongly predictive. Like it or not, statistically speaking, men are far better at those things than women. And very few black college grads scored high enough to be selected. (Plausible offered explanation: the military couldn’t compete with the private sector for them.)
The conclusion? The Navy was choosing student pilots rationally, and the reasons for lack of diversity were far beyond the Navy’s control, unless the Navy lowered performance standards… The RAF’s announcement is a sure sign it prefers pre-determined ratios over performance. Nothing good will come of it. Piloting talent is not uniformly distributed.
And so, the closer the RAF comes to these modish but seemingly arbitrary demographic ratios, the more reason there will be to suppose that standards have been lowered and corners cut, and to question the competence of the supposed beneficiaries. As has been the case in just about every other sphere – from academia to firefighting – where this nudging and fudging has been done.
Needless to say, this policy of supposed fairness seems somewhat unfair to those female and minority pilots who, while few in number, are very competent indeed, and whose credentials and reputation may subsequently be called into question as a result of emerging patterns. But hey, progress.
Update 3:
Depending on mood, one might find humour in the practised dishonesties of the progressive campus, where notions of demographic ‘correction’ are commonplace. But when extended to the realm of firefighting, policing, or the military, or medicine, or pretty much any vital infrastructure, then the funny side of things becomes harder to spot. And it’s perhaps worth noting that the mandatory pretence seen in academia, and all but perfected there, has given leverage to inadequates who do not welcome, and seem unlikely to tolerate, any attempt at realism or putting things right.
Given the vigour with which such demographic targets are pursued, and given the corners that are being cut in order to pursue them, on any number of fronts and at considerable expense… then checking the basic assumptions of those pursuing such goals doesn’t strike me as improper.
And yet, as seen in the pages of Personnel Today, some basic questions are not to be asked.
Also, open thread.
Clue. 😀
I actually found myself re-reading the comment, faintly puzzled, just in case I’d written something salty or untoward.
https://youtu.be/zycKRsl68Hs
The Lotus Eaters recently addressed this subject with their usual good humour.
I am at this late stage in life developing a fear of flying. It’s not the flying itself so much as it is the piloting. This in the broader civilian aviation context I believe is a big part of the anti-travel BS. As a retired person with more time available to me, I plan to fight this by traveling by car or even by boat. It is my understanding that such are less carbon-friendly ways of travel than via aircraft, though I haven’t verified that.
Some newly acquired in-laws-in-laws who like to travel and have gobs of money are currently on a seven week tour of Europe, the initial phase of which was a crossing on the Queen Mary 2. Another friend of mine who recently was in Europe also went one-way on another (I believe) Cunard ship out of Cape Canaveral. The prices seem fairly reasonable considering that you’re traveling in comfort the whole way. Don’t know if going over and back on a boat would be too much of a good thing.
The high paid help in the RAF got thoroughly sucked into the woke vortex over the last few years. They recently changed the ranks of ( |Leading|Senior) Aircraft(wo)man to Air Specialist (Class x) to be non gender specific. While that was mildly harumph worthy, it also mean changing the generic term for them from airmen (and/or airwomen, depending on context) to aviators. Which, as people quickly pointed out is inaccurate (as the majority of airmen don’t actually operate aircraft) and is also not gender neutral excluding, as it does, aviatrices.
These are but annoyances, though they no doubt absorbed a lot of admin effort that could have been better directed, though it now seems somewhat indicative. Personally I think it comes of letting aircrew be in charge and hope that now we have an EngO as CAS things will improve.
I don’t see any comments, regardless of what browser I use to view the page.
Time and resources better spent on the actual, you know, function of the organisation. And that’s the best-case scenario – a mere distraction and loss of focus. More commonly, the effect is actively corrosive, and rapidly so, not least in terms of competence and realism.
The degree of mental conformity expected seems… quite high.
In fact, I don’t see any comments on over a dozen other articles.
https://thepointsguy.com/guide/repositioning-cruises/
WTP.
In case you were not already aware of them, repositioning cruises might be the way to go for those of us who are time-rich and therefore not too tied down to specific dates.
Off Topic: I will vote for you if you run on the slogan Make Criminals Afraid Again.
Considering the prevalence of anti-British feeling among Muslim immigrants, why would any sane government want to persuade more of them to join the military? Especially since radicals will use military service as free training for future terrorism?
[ Post updated. ]
John,
Yes, thx for that. Looks like a one-way thing but might work tied in with a regular rate cruise from say NYC to Europe like my in-law-in-laws are doing and then return back perhaps to Florida or elsewhere on a different ship for variety’s sake. And the pocketbook.
Band name.
Well, come on now, dinosaur, It’s 2023! Quit being so colonial/traditional and start thinking about fairness, equality of outcomes, and level playing fields. In other words, try to imagine the military advantages this might confer to the maligned and misunderstood enemy.
My feminist friends scornfully reject any questions about utility when questioned about the relaxation of standards for firemen and police and other jobs that require strength.
Sadly, female pilots flunk out of flight school at a high rate. They have trouble with the g-forces, have trouble making quick decisions, and are prone to panic. Just what you want when they are landing a multi-million $ fighter with fuel and bombs on an aircraft carrier.
A large majority of this kerfuffle over lack of women, anyways, in much sought-after positions such a CEO, elite ranks in the RAF, firefighters, etc could easily be solved by simply having 40% of applicants “identify” as female. Then the numbers look good, the trans mafia can go bother someone else, and you actually have applicants that are willing and able to do the job. No surgery, quarts of paint and spackle. glitter, or even changing hair length regulations is required. If you say you are a woman, you are a woman. HR can shut up and suck it. I don’t know why more companies/agencies don’t do this, with the trans so high on the totem pole.
So far, the trans mafia has shied away from takeover of the serious grift mills – the BAME BIPOC BLM magical black brown etc bunch who won’t roll over for them, so this solution won’t work for arbitrary color requirements. But I’m sure some enterprising applicant could get a tan and “pass” as something creative. Talcum X seems to be doing well in that category. Rachel Dolezal, not so much.
FIFY. Sadly, society considers this a bad thing.
Hmm. I may have spotted the issue at hand there…
Here in the US, there was an openly anti-US (chaplain maybe) in the army who shot up a base killing a dozen or so (5 yrs ago?). It seems perverse to allow, much less recruit, military personnel who are anti-your country.
Major Nidal Hasan, psychiatrist, at Fort Hood.
Odd that. Odd that that doesn’t happen more often. With psychiatrists that is. Well, YKWIM.
(5 yrs ago?)..
just shy of 15. Tempus fugit and all that…
The ‘diversity’ clowns are always cutting corners.
Bottom story of the day: Guardian columnist fails to understand the auto industry. Thinks that when we sell our cars they are scrapped:
https://youtu.be/FxB0LHvS4fg
Megyn Kelly, free from the constraints of working for a network, comes out swinging.
I’m slightly surprised this has only had 570k views.
Bottom story of the day:
First, “Guardian columnist” is no less than Mr. Bean himself, a noted gearhead. Second, you didn’t read the article.
Nowhere in the article does he suggest scrapping them, merely that people keep them longer, and that industry change.
That sentence having made it into the Guardian is nothing short of a miracle. I imagine the editors thought he was joking again.
Farnsworth: I did read the article.
Selling a 3-year-old car is not a “profligate use of the world’s natural resources” if someone else will buy and drive that used car. Come to think of it, I don’t think my parents bought a new car until I was about 20-25 years old.
Agreed.
A “family friendly” trans pride festival.
Can’t bring myself to imagine what a ‘family unfriendly’ version would be like.
When I was a child, any car that was five years old was a bucket of rust and halfway through the gate of the scrapyard.
What in the hell are you limeys doing to your cars?
My first car, a 1997 Suzuki Swift, was three years old when I bought it and soldiered on marvelously for another eleven years. I only sold it because it needed a brake job that was worth more than the depreciated value of the car. And I lived in the Ontario snow belt.
My first car, a 1997 Suzuki Swift,
Still wet behind the ears. He’s not exaggerating and it wasn’t just English cars, it was all cars made everywhere that would rust out. It wasn’t uncommon for a car to wear a rust hole in the floorboards and the inside fender skirts. I had a 1972 Ford LTD wagon theat cost me $250 in 1977. When I drove into the cottage on a dirt road, the entire card filled with dust, dirt and stones. Got pulled over by the cops and was ordered to get a safety check. Fixing the car to pass the safety would have cost more than I could buy another used car for. My first car was a 1968 Toyota Corolla 1100. You could literally watch the rust eat away the sheet metal.
Selling a 3-year-old car is not a “profligate use of the world’s natural resources”
We can quibble about “profligate” but you are missing the points a bit, what Blackadder is saying is that the current model of pushing people to lease a new car every three years, which adds to the current crop of newer used cars, that then leads to otherwise perfectly usable older used cars going to the breakers is a waste of resources. All part of one of Baldrick’s cunning plans, I suppose.
However, even ignoring that there is much recycling of parts, steel, etc, the fundamental underlying point is that, whether it is cars (real or sparky), TVs, microwaves, or toothbrushes, making stuff that lasts is less wasteful*.
Despite that in real life Atkinson has been known to tear up (accidentally) cars (most famously a McLaren F1, one of the most expensive cars on the planet), I can’t say I disagree with him, but then the average age of my cars is 26.
*(he said after having to replace an 8 year old washer that was cheaper to replace than repair that replaced the 20 year old one for which parts were NLA).
Part of the confusion here about cars is that cars from the 60s or 70s DID rust out if you lived where they salt the roads in winter. I was in my friend’s car and he tossed his…illegal bag in the back and when we arrived it was gone through the hole in the floor. My current car is a lexus ES 350 2008 with 165,000 miles, still going great.
The thing about making things to last is that they cost more. People who are dirt poor do not have the cash to get a car like mine new. It would be nice if there were cheapo cars like the old VW bugs (no AC or heat or anything). Safety requirements make those no longer available.
…cars is that cars from the 60s or 70s DID rust out if you lived where they salt the roads in winter.
The salt accelerated the process, but even a place with regular heavy rains would cause premature death because there was no such thing as rustproofing outside of “undercoating” unless you sprung for Ziebart which process sprayed a waxy goo into all hollow spaces that trapped water like inside of rockers, door panels, A, B & C pillars, etc.
It wasn’t till around the mid-late ’80s things like hot dip galvanizing, factory applied Ziebart like processes and the like became standard.
Word. This even into the 80’s. I’m sure the slat roads up north were bad enough but I lived in Cape Canaveral about three blocks from the beach. I had an ’84 Camaro that by late ’85, the hood was rusting out. “Fortunately” I had an accident and they saw reason to replace the hood even though it wasn’t bad from the accident. The rusting was likely under warranty either way though.
Yes indeed: My parents’ 1950’s Buicks were like that. The two GM station wagons also rusted soon, although not as quickly or badly. The problem was so bad that at one time companies like Ziebart and Rusty Jones made a lot of money providing aftermarket rustproofing treatments. The rustproofing industry declined as manufacturers improved their manufacturing.
Do those 3-year-old cars go to the breakers? Why? Here in America when you trade in a car at the end of a 3-year lease, the dealer puts it on the used car market. And there are lots of people who buy used cars to save money.
A non-sexual social dysfunction: Imagine a population that is this ignorant, stupid, and lazy.
With DEI (Division, Extremism and Indoctrination) in mind, this article on the “intersection” of Complex Systems and the Competence Crisis is a fantastic read:
https://www.palladiummag.com/2023/06/01/complex-systems-wont-survive-the-competence-crisis
Do keep in mind they are practically enjoined to be heavily dependent on others. Bureaucrats have no interest in fostering inquisitiveness or independence among the flock their job depends on.
Do those 3-year-old cars go to the breakers?
No, and nobody, not me, not Atkinson, nor probably anyone else on the planet said so, unless something stupid had happened to it.
As you said, in the US&A, at a manufacturer dealer, the cars coming off lease generally go to the used lot, however finding a car more than a few years old, especially older than about 2010, at a manufacturer dealer is most likely not going to happen, because they want to sell/lease new cars, and don’t want to put money into prepping used cars for sale.
Older cars, especially older cars at trade in, go to auction where they wind up either at small independent used car dealers, on a boat to some strange country, or a breaker because even places like Carmax or Carvana won’t take cars older than about 2010.
You want a ’94 Hondota Xz75Si? Look in the want ads, it isn’t going to be on a lot other than Crazy Harold’s Used Car Bargain Town.
Which is fine: The cars are not scrapped.
So cars more than, say, a dozen years old often do get scrapped.
And Atkinson’s complaint cannot be satisfied unless we all keep our cars until they wear out. Which means that, in your interpretation of what he wrote, the problem is not that people replace cars after 3 years but that they replace them before they wear out.
You could, then, have been more clear about time frames when you wrote:
Which means that, in your interpretation of what he wrote, the problem is not that people replace cars after 3 years but that they replace them before they wear out.
No again.
Leasing in the US became popular in the ’90s as it was a way to put people into cars they couldn’t otherwise afford. Lease periods were generally 2,3, or 4 years, times up, the model was/is lease another (I know many such cases). Not buy used, or buy outright, not that those didn’t happen. Atkinson, being in the UK, I don’t know if there are weird tax/VAT whatever other incentives.
Because of the lease>lease model, this essentially creates an artificially inflated “market”, good for the manufacturers, good for the dealers, but undeniably using more resources than a buy-hold-trade model where people kept their cars till they needed/wanted a new one for whatever reason.
Clicked the link and fell down the ‘rabbit hole’. JFC, that was disturbing.
It is rather eye-widening.
Left unchallenged, the degradation does seem inevitable and likely to occur quite quickly. The thing does have a self-ratcheting aspect. And then there’s the level of habitual pretension required – the neurotic dysfunction – in order not to acknowledge the decline – or its obvious cause. For fear of being ostracised, or fired.
Depending on mood, one might find humour in the practised dishonesties of the progressive campus – its contrivance and contortion. Its lunatic bubble. But extended to the realm of firefighting, policing, or the military, or medicine, or pretty much any vital infrastructure, then the funny side of things becomes harder to spot.
And it’s perhaps worth noting that the mandatory pretence seen in academia, and all but perfected there, has given leverage to resentful inadequates with openly malevolent inclinations – people who do not welcome, and seem unlikely to tolerate, any attempt at realism or putting things right.
Views on parenting and its practicalities nonetheless ensue.
And again you fail to adequately explain what happens to all those cars at the end of the lease period, and how that fits into Atkinson’s complaint about profligate waste of resources.
But I think at this point it would be a waste of time resources to pursue the question further.