Originally posted by Hector_Zeroni on November 12, 2020 00:45
I believe that it is human nature to judge and discriminate against others. From the days of being hunter-gatherers to modern day society, we’ve judged others, often based on the little information we do have, in order to decide who someone is as a person. Under certain circumstances, such as trying to figure out who is someone you can trust, it is okay to judge someone as long as it is based on one’s personality. Much of history showcases us discriminating or judging someone. Back then, however, we had a greater tendency to discriminate against one’s appearance. We also discriminated against groups of people we knew nothing about. For example, the Ancient Greeks were the first to describe people as Barbarians. At the time, it was used to describe anyone who was not Greek, and the Romans eventually used the word Barbarian as a means to describe “uncivilized” people. I find it interesting when Alicia Garza says, “the whole campaign that this president advanced was very much centered around protecting white power, defending white identity, and also creating villains out of those who would say that, white identity politics aren't the only identity politics that deserve attention.” The quote resonated with me because it is interesting to think that despite all the advancements that we’ve made as a society, discrimination is still around and still has its primitive origins. As long as we allow fear to control us, and as long as humans remain imperfect, I don’t believe that we will ever live in a world without discrimination and judgement. Fear serves as the primary reason for why we discriminate and judge others.
Answering @coral27’s question, I believe that US politics have always been about this whole “us vs them” mentality and it is not unique to today’s political landscape. If you look back when America first formed, it was the American colonies vs the British Empire, and any British Loyalist was seen as the enemy. Then it was the Federalists vs the Anti-Federalists. There was also Andrew Jackson and the formation of the Democratic Party when he painted the struggle as being the common man vs the establishment. Then there was the North vs the South in the 1800s. In the 20th century, it was originally about isolationism vs globalisation but then it was the capitalists vs the communists. I find it interesting how a lot of the “us vs them” mentality we see today echoes many of the arguments made back when the United States was formed. Today we argue about whether we should have a big government or small government, and this argument has been discussed pretty much since the beginning of US history with the American colonies vs the British or even the Federalists vs the Anti Federalists. We also see the rise of populism once again with people like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump gaining popularity. I don’t see this “us vs them” mentality going away any time soon with how embedded it has been in US politics for a long while.
The question I would like to ask my classmates is What do you think needs to be done to end the “us vs them” mentality we see in society today?
As I typed in my response, I believe that dismantling systems of oppression that disadvantage certain groups and benefit others can end much of the prevailing us vs them mentality. When people stop seeing others as "Others", and instead as peers who simply have differing identities, much of this harmful mindset will dissipate