Opponents of political correctness and mandated diversity may want to make the folks at the Phoenix aquatics department  the poster children of PC madness.
Officials for the city of Phoenix, which runs dozens of
public pools, decided that they were uncomfortable with the pools’ clientele
consisting mostly of blacks and Hispanics while the lifeguards were nearly all
white.
The solution? Hire minority kids to work as lifeguards,
even if their swimming skills are poor.
As reported by NPR.org, the aquatics department, which
hires 500 lifeguards each summer, is recruiting kids from high schools with
large minority student populations, regardless of their swimming abilities.
One city official explained her concern about the white
lifeguards: “The kids don’t relate; there’s language issues.”
In the past, lifeguards were chosen from schools that
have swim teams. The competitive swimmers, as is the case at high schools
across the nation, are nearly all white.
To diversify its lifeguard ranks, the city raised about $15,000
to offset the cost of lifeguard certification for the low-income kids. Recruits
who eventually pass a basic swim test can apply to become city lifeguards. Officials
assured NPR that pool staff will work with those lifeguards  who struggle in the water on their swimming
skills all summer.

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