Women, minority

The word 'minority' is very frequently encountered in discussions on affirmative action. In the heat of any debate, often absurd definitions are attributed to common sense terms. One would think that a 'minority' group is one that constitutes a small percentage of the total population compared to the larger groups. I remember that during the last storm over the reservation issue in India, somebody commented that anything less than 50% is a 'minority'. I was reminded of this again when a guest on CNN-IBN live said 'women are the most oppressed minority'.
So why is 'minority' such a sacrosanct word? If I were to believe the news bites in the media, India has a sizable oppressed majority - that of the OBCs, which some claim constitute about 54% of the Indian population.
So why not just say that 'women are the most oppressed section of society', or if we want to be really honest, that 'women constitute the largest and the most oppressed section of society'. Why bring in the M word for nothing?

Project meeting

Here's a short note that I made of a meeting several months ago.

Guy 1: He's the in-charge of the whole meeting and makes sure he seems busy throughout.
All the rest are there to just bide their time.

The new guy: He just joined the division. It is very easy to spot him. He is the one with pen and pad, making diligent notes and making sure everybody notices that. Not to miss the most amazing smile in the world as if advertising for Happy Dent.

The graduate student about to present his work wishing that the torture would end and he'd be free to go back and bang his head on his own PC.

The other graduate student: Hides his head under the soil, trying to remain invisible. Suddenly realizes he has to show some interest/insight, and so decides to ask questions, the relevance of which he is not entirely sure.

Graduate student #1 felt that the meeting would have very well used a beautiful girl.

You knew it already

Pray, v. To ask the laws of the universe to be annulled on behalf of a single petitioner confessedly unworthy. -Ambrose Bierce (1842-1914), [The Devil's Dictionary, 1906]

Anyone can do any amount of work, provided it isn't the work he is supposed to be doing at that moment. -Robert Benchley

Courtesy: wordsmith.org