My views on "equality."

Before i begin, i want to make it absolutely clear that this thread and the views expressed therein, do not target a specific person, and does not target this forum in any way. These are merely my views on a subject that is frequently talked about on this forum. I further want to add that i don't want any comments that promote or provoke hate of any kind.

So then, on to the topic at hand: Equality.

Judging from this forum alone, i can easily tell that equality seems to be a hot topic among people, something important we apparently strive for. There are appreciation days for just about anything you can imagine, to keep the thought up and the fight going. When someone mentions delight in the existance of an appreciation day, that person is likely to be revered, by the group the day is targeted at, for doing so. From this i can tell that equality seems to be important in the lives of at least the people who identify with the feelings of loneliness.

What is equality? "the state or quality of being equal; correspondence in quantity, degree, value, rank, or ability." Alright, sounds reasonable. However i think only "value" and "rank" are often discussed and reffered to when talking about this particular topic. This means that values and ranks of different beings are different from one another, to such an extent that it calls for action. I'm thinking of aforementioned appreciation days, but also protests, for example.

Why?

Why do appreciation days even exist? To stop and think about people in the world who have a different percieved "value" and "rank" than yourself? Why do we even have to go to such lengths? Why do have to look for differences in value in others people, as a comparing tool to make ourselves feel better?

You know what i think? I think this is all bullshit. Equality is a distant concept that can never be realised. Never. Why? Because we even have to go to such lengths to bring it to our consciousness that all beings have the same value.

Isn't it common sense that i am just as valuable as someone whose "package" or "looks" are the complete opposite of mine? Isn't it common sense that non-human animals have the same right to live as humans do? Isn't it common sense that one should help a person who has just collapsed to the ground regardless of their package?

It doesn't seem to be. There are hundreds of thousands of prison with a label, of a colour, religion, mental illness, gender, list of ideals, disability, physical disease in any form, ancestry, sexuality, political opinion, or hand gesture usage, just to name a few. What happens is, when looking at a person, that person first has to pass all these portals, each with one of these lables on them. If they're all satisfactory, then you are a human being in the observers' eyes. What is satisfactory to one differs from what is satisfactory to the other, but the portals always remain. People go to lengths of blaming an entire prison of people with one label if something does not go right in their own lives.

Let me tell you something here. If one has the nerve to blame either a group of people or an individual living being of any kind for their own bad lives, then said person is nothing but a weak coward. I mean, how stupid is that? Let's say i was in a car on a highway, i want to switch lanes to the center one. So i switch lanes and crash into another car. I did not see that car yet when i decided to switch. What i tend to notice is that pretty much the entire moral majority would blame the other car for "suddenly appearing." No, that other car is not a unicorn on wheels. It was MY fault for not being careful enough, MY fault that his car is total loss, and MY fault that some poor bloke ends up in the hospital. If one decides to blame anyone else but himself, i dare to say that you could strip said person from all dignity and call it a thrall. Because that is simply the coward's way, in my opinion.

It appears i have drifted off, haven't i? No i haven't. This is part of the psychology that takes place with the problems of equality.

And then there are non human animals. The moral majority seems to view them as inferior. Pay attention for one day to see how many bugs you squish, how many spiders you kill, or wathever it is for fancy unlucky animal that lives in your area. However, i am not saying that you, the reader, is doing any of these things, for that is impossible for me to know. What i am saying that the moral majority seems to not mind doing that. And if you don't mind at all to take the lives of other souls, how can one possibly have the nerve to ramble about equality?

Here's what i think. Realising true equality is one of the most important parts of realising social harmony, where every living being, non human animals, humans, and plants live together in harmony. Therefore, true equality cannot be realised in any human ecosystem. The only way to achieve equality is to get rid of all humans. As that is very unlikely to happen, equality will never be achieved.

These are my views.

Rosebolt said:

Therefore, true equality cannot be realised in any human ecosystem. The only way to achieve equality is to get rid of all humans. As that is very unlikely to happen, equality will never be achieved.

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Great thread, Rosy.

I'd just like to add something in support of the statement quoted above.

"Value" (to me) is something that really can't be quantified because everyone is different and has different views, beliefs, etc. So, following Rosebolt's line of thought, if equality is based on value, who determines value? Ergo, "value" is subjective. As long as something cannot be clearly quantified, it cannot be assigned "equally."

Or that's just my rambling musings.

True. I suppose it'd have to depend on what the value that the moral majority follows at any give time.

Then again, if we take the approach of equality based on value, than equality should not be a definition used when "comparing" people of any of the labels i mentioned, rather, they should be equal by common sense, and not by a concentrated effort of equality.

Well, i think that's the way the world is intended to work - animals eating plants. Does a carrot really care if someone eats it? If i were a carrot, I think I'd love to grow nice and healthy and then be covered in delicious gravy and inserted into a sexy lady's mouth. Perhaps all the carrots dream of their deaths with anticipation, the opposite of how we fear ours. If they follow their carrot Bible codes then they go to Heaven that I just described, but if they are naughty carrots then they go to carrot Hell and are ground up into frozen meals and microwaved by poor people with bad teeth, or conspicuously bought from supermarkets by horny teenage boys along with a tub of vaseline.

I definitely think there are various forms of equality, some much more trivial and ignorable than others. Gender and race are the most important, to me. Appreciation days and events of the like are held because unfortunately a lot of people still live in the past where discrimination was completely acceptable. It's not necessarily the fault of the individual, just the society and era they were born in, or the culture they grew up in. These events will hopefully open a few people's minds, people who were contributing to the discrimination but were unsure of why... It may just be the push in the right direction that they need to start treating people equally.

I ideally support the cause of any movement that strives for equality, but unfortunately trust most of them as far as I can throw them. So many people are using their labels and movements as a crutch to get what they want from life. Now, for an example, just from my limited experience. Every woman I've ever met who has labeled herself as a feminist, has actually turned out to be quite a horrible, self-entitled hypocrite. And it's a shame. It's people like these that make me lose faith in the idea at all, though I still strive for it in my own way, treating interesting people with interest and ignoring the ugly souls.

Everyone should have the same value.

They don't, but that doesn't mean we can't strive for it.

The discussions on equality here are nonsense, because most of the people here have been inauthentic lately. Whoever is on the "right" side of ALL schism du jour (atheist vs. theist, feminist vs. misogynist, positive vs. negative, etc.) can get away with calling people "fag" and not have anyone speak out, whereas someone on the wrong/unpopular side can express their honest views on the same matters and have a shitstorm of antagonism ensue anytime they express an unpopular opinion. Ironically, it's the latter that gets accused of being false. Proof of the herd mentality is that all the people talking about being positive were the same ones accusing the truly positive people of being false months ago. This is not directed at particular members but ALL as a whole recently.

A lot of people here post things out of aggression, and you can't have a debate if someone gets aggressive.

painter said:

Appreciation days and events of the like are held because unfortunately a lot of people still live in the past where discrimination was completely acceptable. It's not necessarily the fault of the individual, just the society and era they were born in, or the culture they grew up in. These events will hopefully open a few people's minds, people who were contributing to the discrimination but were unsure of why... It may just be the push in the right direction that they need to start treating people equally.

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I understand your opinion, and appreciate it. I am not sure if you are looking for answers, but i went over it in my original post. More specifically, this part:

If one decides to blame anyone else but himself, i dare to say that you could strip said person from all dignity and call it a thrall. Because that is simply the coward's way, in my opinion.

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treating interesting people with interest and ignoring the ugly souls.

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In my opinion this is where things go wrong. Ugly souls? That is a highly subjective statement, but i think you are aware of that. However, i think that that is more looking at the package. Judging people as "ugly souls" mostly on the package. I can be wrong, since i am not you. If i am right, then in my opinion you're doing something very wrong.

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Every woman I've ever met who has labeled herself as a feminist, has actually turned out to be quite a horrible, self-entitled hypocrite.

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Labeling oneself will not get one anywhere. Live to live, not to impress.

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LeaningIntoTheMuse said:

A lot of people here post things out of aggression, and you can't have a debate if someone gets aggressive.

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People are more honest when they are aggresive, because they care less about social norms. Therefore i think it can be interesting to have a debate with people who let emotions flow through them. This is not always the case though.

Honesty isn't always what people want to hear. Honesty can sting.

And it may be more interesting, but when people are emotional, they are less relying on facts and relying more on emotions. This can lead to inaccurate depictions.

i have isms...throughout my studies in undergrad as a psychology major, I have not once been taught how to get rid of isms.

If one cannot bear the honesty of another person, then one should not have discussions at all and face their great weakness.

When people rely more on emotions, interesting points of view can be brought onto a discussion table. When people are not able to control their emotions, that is also a point of weakness, and they should not participate in any debate.

You cannot blame yourself for every hardship in life, Rosebolt. Dwelling on whose at fault accomplishes nothing but regret and resentment. The real crux of the problem is distancing oneself from others by judging them and labeling them. By doing so you cannot understand or appreciate views which are dramatically different from your own. People find themselves unable to respect other people because they'd rather label, judge, and completely ignore the actions of an individual. This is why we have intolerance, and the need for these appreciation days which try to bridge the gaps. It's our attempt to defeat basic human nature. The goal is not true equality, the goal is diversity. We each have our own unique dreams, aspirations, wants, and needs. Nobody is trying to detract from who we are as individuals.

defenestrate said:

You cannot blame yourself for every hardship in life, Rosebolt.

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This is true, i worded it wrong. I meant that one should always look at themselves instead of looking at others.

It's our attempt to defeat basic human nature.

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That's the problem right there.

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SophiaGrace said:

i have isms...throughout my studies in undergrad as a psychology major, I have not once been taught how to get rid of isms.

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I do not know what isms is, and a quick google search did not enlighten me at all. Would you mind telling me what isms means? Thank you in advance.

Racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, ablism, etc.

flaneur said:

The discussions on equality here are nonsense, because most of the people here have been inauthentic lately. Whoever is on the "right" side of ALL schism du jour (atheist vs. theist, feminist vs. misogynist, positive vs. negative, etc.) can get away with calling people "fag" and not have anyone speak out, whereas someone on the wrong/unpopular side can express their honest views on the same matters and have a shitstorm of antagonism ensue anytime they express an unpopular opinion. Ironically, it's the latter that gets accused of being false. Proof of the herd mentality is that all the people talking about being positive were the same ones accusing the truly positive people of being false months ago. This is not directed at particular members but ALL as a whole recently.

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Please send me a link to where you've seen this. We can't read every thread here and Im sure if one of the mods saw that, it would have already been deleted.

Rosebolt said:

Ugly souls? That is a highly subjective statement, but i think you are aware of that. However, i think that that is more looking at the package. Judging people as "ugly souls" mostly on the package. I can be wrong, since i am not you. If i am right, then in my opinion you're doing something very wrong.

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People who are obviously honeysuckle. I'm sure we all know a few.

Moral obligations around equality really only exist in relation to basic human rights. Beyond that we don't have to treat others as equals, or accept them. Still it would be a crappy world if people didn't care.

I don't care. I used to care. Then i found the mute/block button online and I've been pretty ok ever since with occasional flareups.

Equality is typically only questioned when someone disagrees. If no one says anything different from anyone else, then no one even thinks about it, usually.

SophiaGrace said:

Racism, sexism, heterosexism, classism, ablism, etc.

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ablism - that's a new word for me! Thanks!