Discrimination – How Deep-Rooted is it?

Modern society frowns on discrimination. And rightly so. People should not be disadvantaged because of the way they are – race, gender, age, sexuality, or disability. And yet, all too often, such discriminations occur.

The problem with overcoming such behaviour is that, before anything else, we must recognise and accept that as a species, we are naturally discriminatory.

Differences stand out, and we like to put people into boxes. It’s how we understand and make sense of the world. It’s easy, and we’re lazy. That’s why we will focus on them.

Once those differences are identified, we then use them as a form of self-protection. Anything unknown or different represents a potential threat or challenge. We are predisposed to be suspicious of it. That includes differences within our own individual human form. It’s an instinctive, life-preserving, play-it-safe reaction.

That’s why we are much more inclined to be drawn towards people that we can identify with, that we understand, that we are familiar with, that we are comfortable with. We gravitate to people who are similar to us, who are more likely, we believe, to have things in common with us.

We less readily relate to people who are different from us.

The extent to which discriminatory behaviour is instinctive and deep-rooted is evidenced in a number of ways:

• By children in the playground. They will always single out the child that is different – the redhead, the bespectacled, the stammerer….. If they’re not like everyone else, they get noticed, whether because of a disability, an unusual hairstyle, or odd clothes.

It’s not so bad when it’s about their clothes or hairstyle, because an individual tends to have some control over those things. The difficulty arises when we make stereotypical assumptions about people or when we disadvantage individuals because of something about them over which they have no control – their physicality.

• We discriminate between people in all sorts of ways: their status, their wealth, their attitudes, their intelligence, their behaviours. Strangely, we don’t deem these to be quite as offensive, repugnant or serious as the more physical discriminations. It may be that these characteristics are, to some extent, within a person’s control and therefore make them acceptable for that person to be judged upon.
• Society is full of stereotypical attitudes that can become the bedrock for discriminatory behaviour. A classic example is that “Blondes have more fun”. There is no scientific evidence for this, but do we chastise those who make their dating choices on this basis?

Similarly, we will have general notions about what people are like based on their job: firefighters are “hunks”, accountants are dull, scientists are geeky. It’s not a massive step for these attitudes to become discriminatory – if you don’t fit the mould, you’re not so likely to get the job.

• Discriminatory attitudes and thought processes are not limited to how we deal with people. We will also discriminate more widely; for example, when we buy branded products. We associate different brands with particular characteristics, and we will use these viewpoints to make our buying decisions.

“I won’t buy a Renault car because I don’t like French cars.”

“I don’t like going to London because the people aren’t very friendly.”

“I don’t go and shop there because their clothes are for old people.”

These are all sentences that people will say. They are all generalisations; they are all discriminatory. Should people be banned from saying things like this? Can you choose to eliminate discrimination in relation to people but allow it to continue in other areas of society?

Discrimination is endemic within society. It is a part of our human psyche. To try to change that is to try to change our human nature. And yet change must happen.

Can we deny our human nature? Can we change our natural instincts?

Society has to tread a balancing act, recognising that it needs to make changes but also that real, deep-rooted change is a long-term, piecemeal process. It can’t be rushed. If done inappropriately or arbitrarily, such imposed changes will seem alien and artificial.

The challenge is to ensure that any changes to our instinctive prejudices are not merely superficial, arising solely from societal pressure. Instead, we must ensure they have strong foundations, for without them, they are likely to be shallow, fragile, and shaky.

For more thoughtful thoughts, go to the Oxthink Home page or check out the different sections on Health and Well-being, Lifestyle Choices, Parenting Advice, Understanding Society and General pages.

Alternatively, for articles on genetics and evolution, visit this author’s dedicated site at Genetically Wrapped.