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Civilization: Is hiring discrimination OK?

By LOU MARANO
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WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- Conservatives are always going on about how the market and individual choice, not government coercion, should deal with racial discrimination in employment. That's fine as far as it goes.

But what do you do about a company if their policy, in effect, is that there's no such thing as bad publicity, a company whose targeted clientele is immune to pious exhortation?

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In his Creators Syndicate column, Larry Elder - a black conservative pundit - notes disapprovingly that Abercrombie & Fitch faces a lawsuit because the firm allegedly either fired, demoted, or reassigned minority salespersons in favor of those with the "all-American" look preferred on the sales floor. Elder doesn't address whether the allegations are true - the company has denied them to United Press International through Paul Wilmot Communications in New York City -- but rather defends Abercombie & Fitch's efforts to meet it's perceived marketing niche.

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After all, Elder writes, Thai restaurants hire Thai waitresses, and Black Entertainment Television hires black hosts and news anchors. Why shouldn't Abercrombie & Fitch hire "blonde surfer types"? That's capitalism.

"The solution remains a vibrant, thriving, low-regulated economy to provide choices and options for workers," Elder concludes. "Also, Abercrombie & Fitch's hiring practices perhaps create entrepreneurial opportunities for others to cater to the 'offended' clientele."

Even so, if my son or daughter had been treated as Elder assumes the minority sales staff was treated, I would be furious - entrepreneurial opportunities notwithstanding. I'm a writer and have a better forum for getting my views across than 99 percent of parents, and still I would feel helpless. My message would be that right-thinking people should not patronize a chain with such a policy.

But who are Abercrombie & Fitch's patrons?

In a 1999 interview with Dave Marino-Nachison, A&F Investor Relations and Communications Director Lonnie Fogel explained the "aspirational" image the company cultivates. "Our plan is not to grow old with our customer. We think the sweet spot for us is the 18-to-22-year-old college student. That demographic is the most fashion-sensitive and fashion-influential."

In other words, Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't want my money and doesn't care what I think. (The last time I bought anything at A&F, they were selling sleeping bags and tents.) And how much influence do I have with "fashion-sensitive" 18-to-22-year-olds?

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Steven Greenhouse reported on the situation in two New York Times news stories. On June 17 he cited an affidavit of a former assistant manager of the Abercrombie store in Boston's Faneuil Hall, which said that of the 110 employees there, two or three were black, one was Hispanic and the other 106 were white.

Jennifer Lu, a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed June 16 in Federal District Court in San Francisco, told Greenhouse she and four other Asian sales staff were fired from an Abercrombie store in Costa Mesa, Calif., after a top corporate official visited last February and told the manager the store had too many Asian sales clerks. She said soon six whites were hired to replace them.

Juancarlos Gomez-Montejano told Greenhouse he and four other minority sales clerks were fired from an Abercrombie store in Santa Monica after a visit from a corporate official. He said a few weeks later the store hired five white fraternity members from UCLA.

And Stanford junior Eduardo Gonzalez said that when he applied last August at the Abercrombie store in Santa Clara, Calif., a manager said he should apply for the stock room or an overnight position.

On July 13 Greenhouse reported that managers at no fewer than three Abercrombie stores have offered a job to shopper Elizabeth Nill, a "striking" blonde Northwestern sophomore. Antonio Serrano, a former assistant manager at an Abercrombie store in Scranton, Pa., told Greenhouse that this practice is company policy. "They thought if we had the best-looking college kids working in our store, everyone will want to shop there."

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Hiring attractive people is one thing. Hiring attractive "Aryans" is another. Yet some libertarians will defend this, not only legally but also morally.

In a phone interview, David Boaz, executive vice president of the Cato Institute, suggested that any attempt to influence Abercrombie & Fitch's hiring and promotion policies is out of bounds.

"Why is it any of your business what they do? ... The person who wants to use force to make somebody else do something bears the burden of proof. ... It's OK with me that when I go into Abercrombie & Fitch there's this blond surfer look. And when I go into a more upscale men's store, I'm going to get the hip European look in the help. And when I go into the Flavor's Restaurant, there's all black people waiting on me - and that's fine. I'd rather buy soul food - southern food - from black people than from surfers."

Well now.

It's my business because, if true, what Abercrombie & Fitch is alleged to be doing would be wrong - and offensive to me as a member of the community. If I wanted to picket or distribute pamphlets, what business is it of libertarians?

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Second, I'm trying to avoid "force" in the form of government coercion. But disapprobation is the oldest and gentlest form of pressure in human interaction. Should corporations be exempt?

Parents of children about to enter the college "demographic" would do well to tell them that Abercrombie & Fitch may be reluctant to hire minority sales staff. Young people can take this into account when deciding where to spend their money.

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