The issue of Maine's "whiteness" is becoming a constant refrain. The following was published in the Portland Press Herald on Friday 15 November. Alexis Herman is, of course, another piece of residue from the x42 administration.
Maine Gets Mixed Views on Diversity
Matt Wickenheimer
Maine's lack of diversity will be a challenge to attracting business, but the state may be in a good position today to begin encouraging policies and attitudes that could make future diversity work well in communities, former Secretary of Labor Alexis Herman said Thursday night.
Herman, who was the keynote speaker at the Finance Authority of Maine's annual business dinner in Portland, served as labor secretary in the Clinton administration and is now chairwoman of Coca-Cola Co.'s task force on diversity. In an interview before her speech, Herman spoke about diversity, worker safety and other issues facing today's business community.
Herman said that in coming years, two-thirds of business expansion will be fueled by women and people of color. Add immigrants to the mixture, and the statistic climbs to 85 percent.
"It's a phenomenon we have to take into account to build the work force," said Herman. "The lack of Maine's diversity will be a particular challenge for attracting business to the state."
The issue was raised recently when former state Attorney General James Tierney observed that Maine is the whitest state in the nation, with only 3.5 percent of residents being nonwhite, compared to roughly 31 percent nationally.
Tierney suggested that Maine's economy will only stagnate without an influx of diverse people. Herman said that with future growth shown to be coming from the nonwhite community, Maine has got to work to attract a diverse base. In a recent college study looking at why young people go to certain places to work, while avoiding other places, 44 percent pointed to diversity as a main issue, she said.
To attract a diverse population, Herman said, Maine should tout its core values and small, tight communities - particularly after Sept. 11, 2001.
"Be very aggressive in championing the values that make this state an attractive place," said Herman. "That's the word that has got to get out."
Herman didn't pretend that building diversity is easy. Tolerance levels get tested, she said, and people don't normally gravitate toward the different.
"I always say that leveraging diversity is about breaking the cycle of sameness," she said. "We've got to get out of the comfort zones of sameness."
While other regions may be very diverse, with systems and tolerances being stressed and even broken, she said, Maine is in a unique position. Maine is seeking a greater mix, she said, and can put systems in place to encourage diversity and discourage and punish discrimination. "I think it's good you're in that phase," she said. "You've got a chance to do it right."
On the issue of workplace safety, Herman said the shift from the traditional manufacturing industry to the computer-based high-tech arena has to be recognized. Many of the workplace hazards have changed, she said, with dangers today including computer keyboards, carpal tunnel syndrome and other ergonomic concerns. Herman had promoted Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations to address ergonomic con- cerns, but the proposed changes have been put on hold by the Bush administration.
"A do-nothing approach in this area is not acceptable," said Herman. "It's not enough to simply assume this is an area where we will self-correct."
On the other hand, said Herman, traditional workplace safety training becomes even more important as immigrant workers become a greater part of the work force.
"We cannot take for granted that these new workers bring the same knowledge to the workplace," she said.
Herman, who began her political career in the Carter administration, said the move to private industry has given her an opportunity to see the real effects of policies she worked on. For example, she said, she's seen people who have made the transition from welfare to work, while being able to take advantage of child-care support systems put into place. She's also seen young people who have entered the work force after being targeted as at-risk youth.
So French Huguenots and Calvinists from Salzburg were welcomed into Prussia, Dutch and German communities were set up by Tsar Peter the Great in Russia, and Saxons were invited to Siebenbuergen (Transylvania).
But what the U.S. is doing is exactly the reverse: we are apparently inviting unproductive, unskilled, and uncivilised people here, whose primary contributions are to raise the crime rate, deplete the welfare system, and transform the inherited European culture into something from the Stone Age.
No doubt, it is the limousine liberals, safe in their gated communities, who have effected this. I only wonder why they do not contemplate the effect that this will have on their offspring if the trend is not reversed (Rhodesia/Zimbabwe presents a good glimpse into the future). Perhaps they have no offspring. But why do they hate the rest of us so much that they would subject us to this infestation?
I have a better idea.
These immigrants should be part of a special task force, whos purpose is to go door-to-door, confiscating the firearms of Americans. Abortionists, homos, illegal aliens, bureaucrats, and democrats should also be part of this agency. They should all be given blue UN uniforms, which I'm sure we could hoodwink the Europeans into paying for since they don't like our guns.
This would cost virtually nothing, and would solve a lot of problems at the same time.
''Any word that there's a better place, he's going to go there.
Put out the word on the streets that Mexico has jobs galore ;-)