Discriminations

Several of women clients have recently talked about the discrimination they have felt over the years. Most of this has been subtle, very subtle. But it is there, and they ‘see’ it clearly.

Minorities? Ethnicity? You know discrimination big time. How about sexual orientation? Transgender youth? Questioning youth? 

Kids feel it too. Fluff up memories of your early days. Do you recall people shunting you aside because you were young, too inexperienced to have an opinion on anything? I do. Bet you do too.

And age discrimination? A sure bet these days. Oh, we are respected, but we are also discounted heavily. It is stunning to recognize the dismissal.

Ugly? Ho-hum looks? You feel the interest or lack thereof. You know in your bones that someone is avoiding you. Not interested in conversing. No need to associate with you. Move on to something or someone more interesting than you.

Dress differently? Noticed? Or shunned? Gay or straight? Well, the gay part is a definite cause for different treatment. Not always obvious, subtle to be sure.

What about education, vocabulary, regional accent? Do these distinguish or separate?

Being a gay male of senior age, I know discrimination personally. I don’t know what it is like to be a woman, but I can relate.

America has a history of 'home of the free and land of the brave.' It is where ‘life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness’ is ingrained in our sense of values. Yet we are a society that continues to distinguish separateness, difference.

Why is this so? I wonder why people root out difference. Is it because their self-esteem is so low that they search for what makes them 'better' than someone else? Better? Really? On whose scale of ‘better’ does this rely?

The energy we waste on this perversion is horrendous. Best we focus on what makes us the same. Then join hands and work to build the better society. Just think of the good we can do if this were true?

Let’s make it so!

July 27, 2022

 

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