Early in my Wall Street career, I was rejected for a trading job at a premier money management firm because I was apparently Jewish.
The firm’s managing partner, Carl, was a reasonably smart and affable salesman. We met many times for interviews, got along very well, and I was clearly the best candidate for the job (the person ultimately hired was not particularly talented and didn’t last long).
However, Carl’s discomfort with Jews kept him from hiring me.
His prejudice was rooted in family lore (someone generations back had been financially screwed by a Jew) and evident in his social circles: exclusive country clubs without Jews, a co-op with no Jewish residents, and no one on staff at his firm had a Jewish background.
His prejudice was further underscored by his previously being the sole board member of a Wall Street brokerage firm to oppose its merger with a Jewish-owned commodity trading firm. The merger went through, resulting in the commodity firm becoming the largest stockholder of the brokerage firm; meaning, Carl would henceforth be working for Jews.
Being denied a plum job on the grounds of my religious heritage might have angered others likewise situated; but, I found it funny.
I viewed Carl as struggling with a mental handicap that limited his ability to make choices in his best self-interest. His handicap was “labeling,” or categorizing, a generic form of distinguishing between people that shadows who they are as individuals.
Labeling, like broad generalizations, is a way to try to make sense of complexity, but it ultimately prevents us from truly understanding what we label.
It’s funny, when someone knows little; yet firmly believes otherwise.
In this specific situation, Carl’s ignorance was my bliss.
Ultimately, the entertainment value of the story of this experience is greater than the rewards that might have been had I gotten the job.
When I recounted this experience to others, a few asked if I had confronted Carl to express my assumed anger. I never said anything to him. How could I speak when I was laughing?
Ironically, those upset by discrimination are also funny, for they are also engaging in categorization.