#BAD2014, #Inequality, #BlogAction
Inequality. It's not rich or poor, or race, religion, or gender.
Inequality is the product of a belief system of the individual or the group. It's when one trait or person is deemed better than something that is not.
The way that we as people value life is not all life is precious. Only life "like me" or "this group" is worth more than others.
How does this show?
The caste system in India is one that baffles me. Why one group is still deemed as untouchable hundreds of years and still going strong is beyond me. Inequality is taught by parents to children, rooted in fear that if everyone is equal, then the higher castes must have something dirty about them. Change has to be forced. Government, religious, or celebrities can create awareness but true change is going to have to come from the masses in India.
Inequality is dismissive.
The people of Ferguson, MO are justifiably mad no simply because black youth are shot and killed but that if there are no protests, the incidents will quietly go away. Watch any news show and if a young, blonde, white girl is kidnapped, national hunts go on. I'm sure an equal amount of young, pretty, girls of color go missing but we don't hear about it. The value of the news story is not equal. Change will have to be forced from the bottom up.
Inequality is created by a need to be better than someone else because of what they do. I can't count the number of times I've been verbally abused by a customer simply because I was the cashier taking their order at Carl's Jr. I've heard it "well you're just stupid, uneducated, or you wouldn't be working here." Really? Because I had an education, gone to college, and liked the working hours and pay of my job. The perceived value of my job made me unequal to the customer. My uncle once told me, "it's an honest job and you do honest work. Not everyone has a job." That has stayed with me 30 years later.
Blog Action Day isn't about issues or problems, it's about awareness and solutions.
Be kind to people today. Start with one person. Make the effort to smile or say hello to the person taking your order, your money at the grocery store, and don't act like they're an imposition because you have a "very important phone call" that has to hold up the entire line. Say hi to the cleaning staff at your office. Then be kind again tomorrow and the next day. One person, one day at a time, for a week, month, year and then it's a habit.
Habit creates change. Habit can be a step towards turning inequality to equal.
Wouldn't that be a better world? I like to think so.
Inequality is the product of a belief system of the individual or the group. It's when one trait or person is deemed better than something that is not.
The way that we as people value life is not all life is precious. Only life "like me" or "this group" is worth more than others.
How does this show?
The caste system in India is one that baffles me. Why one group is still deemed as untouchable hundreds of years and still going strong is beyond me. Inequality is taught by parents to children, rooted in fear that if everyone is equal, then the higher castes must have something dirty about them. Change has to be forced. Government, religious, or celebrities can create awareness but true change is going to have to come from the masses in India.
Inequality is dismissive.
The people of Ferguson, MO are justifiably mad no simply because black youth are shot and killed but that if there are no protests, the incidents will quietly go away. Watch any news show and if a young, blonde, white girl is kidnapped, national hunts go on. I'm sure an equal amount of young, pretty, girls of color go missing but we don't hear about it. The value of the news story is not equal. Change will have to be forced from the bottom up.
Inequality is created by a need to be better than someone else because of what they do. I can't count the number of times I've been verbally abused by a customer simply because I was the cashier taking their order at Carl's Jr. I've heard it "well you're just stupid, uneducated, or you wouldn't be working here." Really? Because I had an education, gone to college, and liked the working hours and pay of my job. The perceived value of my job made me unequal to the customer. My uncle once told me, "it's an honest job and you do honest work. Not everyone has a job." That has stayed with me 30 years later.
Blog Action Day isn't about issues or problems, it's about awareness and solutions.
Be kind to people today. Start with one person. Make the effort to smile or say hello to the person taking your order, your money at the grocery store, and don't act like they're an imposition because you have a "very important phone call" that has to hold up the entire line. Say hi to the cleaning staff at your office. Then be kind again tomorrow and the next day. One person, one day at a time, for a week, month, year and then it's a habit.
Habit creates change. Habit can be a step towards turning inequality to equal.
Wouldn't that be a better world? I like to think so.
Well written.
ReplyDeleteThanks Homer!
ReplyDelete