I think there is no democracy when powerful people’s interests interfere to make rules and regulations.
Politically speaking, affirmative action is usually a mean to get a society to spread opportunities evenly based on the distribution of different ethnicities.
AA exists even in countries where slavery has been abolished long ago. Take the US for example; AA is alive and happening in the University educational system...
I am against AA if that means lowering standards, and aviation is no field where one can afford to lower standards. For that matter SAA should make sure they are recruiting those who you mentioned before as ABLE individuals not just anybody.
Leaving the SAAF issue aside (I am not in a position to make any judgment on that), and in answer to your question, I don’t think a racially equal democracy could easily exist especially in the near term. But I think SAA should hire equally a number of the White pilots who have worked hard and self sponsored their training.
I heard of SAA giving some of the SA operators some graduating cadets (I know of a couple who went to Rossair), I think that these operators are under no obligation to take them but guess what is making them do it? It is politics and interests lots of people don’t know about.
Life is a bitch and we live in a cruel world, I could go on and on…
Good luck to all of you aspiring to become pilots with decent jobs, and if you don’t get a cadetship, it is not the end of the world just have contingency plans if the cadetship channel fails.
