text: I think you misunderstand what a protected class is. It is merely a category that one cannot use to discriminate. For instance, I cannot refuse to hire someone simply because they are a Christian, even though I find that religion to be horrid, because religion is a protected class. However, I can refuse to hire someone because s/he is rude, because the state of one's manners is not a protected class. Having protected classes doesn't create haves and have nots, it just makes it illegal to discriminate based on certain characteristics.