The Struggle Between Genocide And Discrimination
Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction of an ethnic, racial, religious or national group. It is a form of mass killing intended to entirely eliminate certain groups defined by the perpetrator. Discrimination, and the idea that one group is superior to another, leads (maybe not directly) to genocide. The real question is: why do we as humans discriminate against or hate particular sections of the population? In a 1921 article, author Francis Edward Clark, on the subject of prejudice, stated:
"The California fruit grower discovers that the Japanese fruit grower is smarter than he is; and he camouflages his objection with the statement that 'the Oriental will lower the scale of American living.' The white American labourer sees
the Chinese laundryman working twelve hours a day, burning the midnight oil, and rejoicing in the opportunity, while he desires chiefly to scamp his own eight hour day, work as little as possible, and get, but not earn, his five dollar bill at the end of it. Of course, he objects to 'cheap yellow labor.' ...
It would seem that most national antipathies are the result of fear, conscious or unconscious, that some race or nation will get the better of us."
The governments of various countries, ranging from Haiti to Germany, have persecuted and tormented racial, ethnic, religious, or national groups over the past centuries. The Nazis were a perfect example of a government that outright discriminated against certain groups based on their belief in the concept of a 'master race'- namely a Nordic Aryan race. In most developed countries today, each individual's rights include the right to be free from government sponsored discrimination.
The idea of 'egalitarianism' or 'equalism' maintains that all humans are equal in fundamental worth. It is not up to governments, who are trusted to run and preserve their countries, to decide who is superior out of the population. It is their job to protect citizens and instil a sense of trust and security within communities, not to place people in boxes, stacked one on top of the other- the bottom box being whom they consider inferior.
Government-sponsored discrimination is not a new phenomenon and neither is discrimination itself. For ages we, as humans, have always wanted to be elite, whether it is as individuals or as a group. Social competition is fuelled by the need for self-esteem. Hate groups form as a result of people struggling to hold on to their sense of superiority, seeking an enemy to blame for their failings. Bruce Link and Jo Phelan propose that stigma occurs when four particular components come together:
"Individuals differentiate and label human variations.
Prevailing cultural beliefs tie those labeled to adverse attributes.
Labeled individuals are placed in distinguished groups that serve to establish a sense" of disconnection between 'us' and 'them'.
Labeled individuals experience 'status loss and discrimination' that leads to unequal circumstances."
In essence, ruling government parties- supported by sections of the population- put into place laws to prevent other racial, ethnic, religious, or national groups from participating in the economy or living normal lives. In my opinion, no government, group, or individual should be allowed to discriminate against anyone, no matter who they are. We were all born into this world as equal human beings with different skin tones and different beliefs, it is not one man's place to decide that he is superior due to a stereotype or social stigma.
I believe that the common motive behind government-sponsored discrimination is social stigma- the extreme disapproval of a person or group based on what the greater society considers something that sets them apart. From this lower opinion of others spurs a hatred for that specific group, which then leads to mass discrimination and from there, genocide.
"The California fruit grower discovers that the Japanese fruit grower is smarter than he is; and he camouflages his objection with the statement that 'the Oriental will lower the scale of American living.' The white American labourer sees
the Chinese laundryman working twelve hours a day, burning the midnight oil, and rejoicing in the opportunity, while he desires chiefly to scamp his own eight hour day, work as little as possible, and get, but not earn, his five dollar bill at the end of it. Of course, he objects to 'cheap yellow labor.' ...
It would seem that most national antipathies are the result of fear, conscious or unconscious, that some race or nation will get the better of us."
The governments of various countries, ranging from Haiti to Germany, have persecuted and tormented racial, ethnic, religious, or national groups over the past centuries. The Nazis were a perfect example of a government that outright discriminated against certain groups based on their belief in the concept of a 'master race'- namely a Nordic Aryan race. In most developed countries today, each individual's rights include the right to be free from government sponsored discrimination.
The idea of 'egalitarianism' or 'equalism' maintains that all humans are equal in fundamental worth. It is not up to governments, who are trusted to run and preserve their countries, to decide who is superior out of the population. It is their job to protect citizens and instil a sense of trust and security within communities, not to place people in boxes, stacked one on top of the other- the bottom box being whom they consider inferior.
Government-sponsored discrimination is not a new phenomenon and neither is discrimination itself. For ages we, as humans, have always wanted to be elite, whether it is as individuals or as a group. Social competition is fuelled by the need for self-esteem. Hate groups form as a result of people struggling to hold on to their sense of superiority, seeking an enemy to blame for their failings. Bruce Link and Jo Phelan propose that stigma occurs when four particular components come together:
"Individuals differentiate and label human variations.
Prevailing cultural beliefs tie those labeled to adverse attributes.
Labeled individuals are placed in distinguished groups that serve to establish a sense" of disconnection between 'us' and 'them'.
Labeled individuals experience 'status loss and discrimination' that leads to unequal circumstances."
In essence, ruling government parties- supported by sections of the population- put into place laws to prevent other racial, ethnic, religious, or national groups from participating in the economy or living normal lives. In my opinion, no government, group, or individual should be allowed to discriminate against anyone, no matter who they are. We were all born into this world as equal human beings with different skin tones and different beliefs, it is not one man's place to decide that he is superior due to a stereotype or social stigma.
I believe that the common motive behind government-sponsored discrimination is social stigma- the extreme disapproval of a person or group based on what the greater society considers something that sets them apart. From this lower opinion of others spurs a hatred for that specific group, which then leads to mass discrimination and from there, genocide.