Regardless of how one feels about the theory of white privilege, it’s still, for now, just that: a theory.

Anti-discrimination laws, on the other hand, are very real. Someone perhaps should remind Madeleine Leader of this fact. Leader, the Democratic National Committee Data Services Manager, reportedly made what is likely a very illegal request in an email related to the hiring of new IT staff for the DNC.

As first reported by the Daily Wire, Leader stated to colleagues that she “would prefer that you not forward to cisgender straight white males, since they’re already in the majority.”

 

 

Can a hiring manager legally make such a statement in an official capacity? Probably not, writes Suzanne Lucas at INC.

“So, here’s the thing: You can’t do this. Not legally, anyway…

You can say we want to have a diverse staff, but you can’t single out a group that you don’t wish to hire. Legally, how affirmative action is supposed to work is that if you have two equally qualified candidate then you can give the job to the person from the minority group. It doesn’t mean you don’t consider straight, white males.”

Legality aside, it seems like many progressives believe excluding “cisgender white males” is a morally correct action. After all, if white males truly are the oppressor class, wouldn’t it be legitimate to discriminate against them?

Such questions are at the heart of modern politics and the source of much of the discord in America today.

The divide over this idea is evidenced by the fact that, as of Wednesday morning, not a single major network or newspaper had touched this juicy story–which involves overt racial discrimination and possible illegality on the part of a hiring manager working for a major political party. (Right wing media, on the other hand, have been all over it.)

All of this raises one important question: Do Americans wish to live in a country that strives to treat people equally, or one in which everyone has equal outcomes?