Rampant Age, Sex, Race and Religious Discrimination
There’s an old story or "trick question" often used by law professors or logic teachers … the prosecutor asks the witness "When did you stop beating your wife"? pretty hard to answer as a yes or no question, isn’t it? What if you’ve never beaten your wife? what if you have no wife? How dare you ask that question? OK, I’ll ask a broader question that applies to everyone, with or without a wife:
Have you stopped being a racist or a sexist or the practice of religious and/or age discrimination? Fair enough, folks .. come on, yes or no?
What? You mean you still don’t think the question is fair? I’ll grant that it fits in the category of logical fallacies known as a "loaded question" or Plurium Interrogationum … but I will also submit that everyone reading this including myself) has no choice but to answer in the negative.
Wait a minute! Answer in the negative? You mean Dave is calling us racists or religious discriminators? ….. the sound you just heard was thousands of readers clicking on to another blog. For the .01 percent of you left, here’s why I posed the question and made the assertion:
A few days ago I read a great post about women bloggers on my blogging friend Pat Doyle’s site. Read the comments. Note particularly the ones that assert that categorizing bloggers by gender is not discrimination.
My goodness, those who insist it is not discrimination must be right. We all know that "discrimination" is a "bad thing" … after all, that’s the way the news media uses it, and don’t they "hold the key" to knowledge? … since, in the US at least, it’s readily apparent that the schools don’t.
This little discussion on Pat’s blog points up something that sticks in my craw … a prime example of just how ignorant and careless most of us (and yes, me too) are with the language we purport to know how to use.
We all discriminate on a daily basis. Indeed to be said to have "discriminating" taste is normally a complement.
We all discriminate racially. We know who is white or Caucasian, we know an African-American from an Asian-American … when a sad, deranged man goes on a shooting rampage at a college, how many media reports failed to mention he was of Korean ethnicity? the recent tragic shootings in Arvada and Colorado Springs, Colorado were committed by a troubled young man of most probable) Scottish decent(as I am). Can you find me a single media report that says "Scottish religious fanatic shoots up churches"?
The US government, rightly or wrongly, discriminates overtly on the basis of national origin … ask yourself why a Filipino, whose parents or grandparents fought on the US side of WWII can’t enter the US at will, but a Japanese citizen, whose forefathers perpetrated a sneak attack and war far more horrible the the tragedy of 9-11 enters with no visa? Or why Muslims … even some who are US citizens, are confined and tortured for years without benefit of our legal system because of the fact they revere Mohammed and not Jesus? On a less inflammatory, but no less valid note, why must an airline pilot in perfect health be forced to retire at age 60, or a US citizen who wishes to serve her country be denied enlistment into the armed services in her 30’s?
Where am I going with this? And how does it possibly relate to my underlying theme of seniors and retirees making money on line? Simple.
- To progress in this business, or any other business, you must know with whom you are dealing and have a genuine interest in dealing with them. You must insure you deal with them on a basis of equality and not for conclusions based upon their qualities which differ with, or mirror your own.
- In order to accomplish the goals expressed in point one, you absolutely must understand that we all discriminate. It is part of our nature as humans and part of the basis of law in our country, Your actions in response to your own attitudes and beliefs are the only part of the equation that matters. You can not treat others with equality and respect unless you understand the meaning of discrimination. denying that discrimination exists, or that categorizing people into race or gender-based groups is not discriminatory is not only disingenuous … it is a denial of reality … and a big step down the road toward the negative application of discriminatory decisions … and illustrates a narrowness of thinking and a lack of understanding of what everyday words really mean.
Most bloggers are deeper thinkers than Katie Couric and the others of her ilk whose babble (characterized with the misnomer "analysis") so often substitutes for the practice of thought in our country. Prove my contention to your readers.
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