The more I think about it, the more I am convinced that equality is not a desirable concept. I believe that every time equality is sought, it tends to create in turn a high degree of injustice, and this is because in the world no two people are the same, not at all, in fact, we are all different, and trying to make two people equal or to treat them the same in spite of all their differences seems to me that it usually either harms one or harms the other, or even harms both, but it is never fair to both. For me, equality is a concept that we took from mathematics and tried to apply to the real world in an unsatisfactory way. I don't believe that equality exists in the world we live in. Perhaps it is better to have a qualitative approach to reality rather than a quantitative one. Because if we look at qualities and not quantities, we will easily realize that everyone is unique in some way, and therefore different.
There are many people asking for equality, and I understand them, don't think I don't, they complain about all kinds of discrimination, and discrimination is usually unfair. But I think the problem is not that there is a lack of equality, I think that in fact, contradictorily, the problem is the false equality that makes people discriminate. And let's take an example, the man who discriminates against the poor, is falsely assuming that all the poor, or at least most of them, are equal, and I think that's the problem, because they are not all equal, there are honest also corrupt poor, some of there are good and some bad, there are hard working poor and lazy ones, there are infinite differences between one and the other, and what leads the first man to discriminate against all the poor is that he has a negative image of them and believes that they are all equal. For me, the problem here is the false idea of equality that man has in his head. Because not all men, and not all women, and not all of one class, ethnicity, religion, belief, etc., are the same, in fact, everyone is different. And I think that's a good thing.
So, I believe that what creates the injustice in the first place is that belief in a fictitious and illusory equality that does not exist in reality, and all we do by trying to seek more of that equality is simply increase the injustice that already exists. To refuse to see the differences is to refuse to see a part of ourselves.
Perhaps I am overlooking something but I believe that the concept of equality is not a very beneficial concept, and moreover, in practice probably unattainable. I do believe that there is a basic respect that we all deserve for the simple fact of being human, and that is something we all have in common, but that does not mean that we are equal.
Again, maybe I'm missing something. What about you, what do you think about equality?
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I think the same way. Equality is an advertisement-term and in reality nothing can be made equal, that's right. Equal are things of mechanical nature and even those, if you look very closely, have minor differences, even though they might not be intended. To revers this kind of thinking, and turning it around, I find, is a good mental practice in order to find out about the flaws of this concept when applying it to human relationships. I've discussed the qualitative differences in many of my articles and I try to appreciate them in my real life encounters as something good, rather than something difficult. It turns out, that this practice brings me more understanding and less judgement.
A very good point, you made, in how a rich man may look at the poor and make them all equal in his mind. I'd say, it's a kind of lazy outlook on the world, in general to avoid the effort in considering the differences, for it would indeed require more time for each person and situation to deal with. .... Or less, it depends :)
That's the way I see it. And I agree with you, I think it is a lazy simplification. It is a bit reductionist.
The present study examined if empathy and perceived similarity relate to empathic behaviors online. The study featured three real online influencers, one of whom was white, one Asian, and one Black. In a sample of 115 participants, I found that empathy significantly, negatively correlated with aggression for the two non-white influencers featured in our study. For the one white influencer, the more similar viewers felt toward her, the less aggression they felt toward her behaviors. Controlling for ethnicity of participants, participants indicated significantly higher levels of perceived similarity toward the white influencer, followed by the Asian influencer, and the Black influencer. **
While it is not "impossible" for any particular human to feel empathy for any other particular human, THE OVERWHELMING TENDENCY is for humans to feel MORE empathy for humans who are perceived to be "more similar".
For example,
Human ethnocentrism—the tendency to view one's group as centrally important and superior to other groups—creates intergroup bias that fuels prejudice, xenophobia, and intergroup violence. Grounded in the idea that ethnocentrism also facilitates within-group trust, cooperation, and coordination, we conjecture that ethnocentrism may be modulated by brain oxytocin, a peptide shown to promote cooperation among in-group members. In double-blind, placebo-controlled designs, males self-administered oxytocin or placebo and privately performed computer-guided tasks to gauge different manifestations of ethnocentric in-group favoritism as well as out-group derogation. Experiments 1 and 2 used the Implicit Association Test to assess in-group favoritism and out-group derogation. Experiment 3 used the infrahumanization task to assess the extent to which humans ascribe secondary, uniquely human emotions to their in-group and to an out-group. Experiments 4 and 5 confronted participants with the option to save the life of a larger collective by sacrificing one individual, nominated as in-group or as out-group. Results show that oxytocin creates intergroup bias because oxytocin motivates in-group favoritism and, to a lesser extent, out-group derogation. These findings call into question the view of oxytocin as an indiscriminate “love drug” or “cuddle chemical” and suggest that oxytocin has a role in the emergence of intergroup conflict and violence. **
Similarity can be something abstract. Someone may be physically different from you and yet you may feel that you are very similar to that person at psychological, mental and/or emotional level or because personality characteristics.
INTP FTW
Also, I believe that what most people are talking about when they demand "equality" is some sort of BASELINE.
Nobody's demanding lambos and penthouses for the homeless.
They're just demanding humane treatment of all humans.
I think there is a difference between demanding "equality" and demanding "humane treatment of all humans". Treating everyone humanely means recognizing differences, accepting them, respecting them, and act accordingly, not simply force everyone to be equal.
There's no reason to demonize people who demand equality for all.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Campaign
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_Rights_Campaign
Hey, long time, no see :) How are you?
Now, what is that supposed to say above? Is anyone "demonizing" this? I have not heard anybody wishing people go to hell or being the devil for saying they wish people to be equal - maybe I am not enough engaged in "social media" and "hate-speech" (irony).
I find it's a buzz word and treated superficially ... but being "demonized"?
Maybe it's critisized but that'a already something totally different. I myself do have critique. First, one cannot "demand" equality and secondly, if you think about it in terms of tolerance, why must people of different world views be convinced by such great lobbies to unite their notions?
Why send people on the streets in order to march for those rights, when they already are installed in the western world? Must one catch even the last one to convert to this world view? Why the hurry, why this concentration and pressure? Are gay people being thrown in prison for their gayness? I mean, we are not allowed to meet and greet in large gatherings, let alone clubbing, dancing, celebrating on the streets without having to fear that the police is coming.
But maybe I became too old for all this and don't get it that people don't care what label there is on their signs when marching, mainly, they may basically pretend to care about the topic and really do enjoy being together without being bothered by interfering police or other groups.
Well, keeping quiet won't advance your cause much.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jamiewareham/2020/05/17/map-shows-where-its-illegal-to-be-gay--30-years-since-who-declassified-homosexuality-as-disease/?sh=2dd1de64578a
Hmm... I am not quiet, actually. I think we don't have to debate as if we are from different sides, right? I think you may know what I meant.
I have another approach to the world. When I see something within my range where I can take influence, I do. I never discriminate anyone for what he might represent with evil intent or insult or whatever. I respect and treat people with decency even when they have a different opinion. But of course, I open my mouth when it gets unfair for myself or for those who are close to me. This is the "world" I live in. I do not so much care for the rest of the globe, for I cannot demand people from different cultures to be equal to me, meaning my beliefs, my convictions, my principles or morals. Would I want "the world" being like me, I would be a tyrant.
Yep, but in this international space we call the intarwebz, we can share ideas and encourage those who want something better.
Here's what happens when you keep your mouth shut,