Now, men can accuse them of being in bed with government. I've watched my department become demoralized, downgraded, debased, demeaned. Everybody falls into one or even more than one protected class. That is, everybody except white males. We're hiring tiny women.
Size is no longer a criterion for firefighters.
Such resentment naturally translates into a heightened sexism. Affirmative action is fertile ground for the evil it ostensibly opposes. Perhaps this is inevitable for a policy that enshrines its own version of sexism into the legal system. Allocating jobs via a quota system rather than merit has disastrous long-term economic consequences. And it drives a wedge between individual worth and economic success.