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Why being discriminated against doesnt stop people from discriminating?

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by GingerGuy, Oct 4, 2013.

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  1. GingerGuy

    GingerGuy
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    Although it may seem like it from the title, I am not referring to LGBT people only, but to pretty much all other minority groups (blacks, jews, overweight people, etc). I recently wondered why discrimination exists even among groups who are already discriminated against. Shouldnt it make them at least a little more tolerant? I decided to post this thread after reading a comment from another Brazilian gay man on a public internet forum, that was about dating people from a different socioeconomic background. I cant send the link because its in portuguese, but Ill be faithful to what he wrote. Here it is:

    "Its just so politically correct to just say that you must date people from another social class, and if you dont, youre a jerk. I prefer middle class men, its my right to do so, and I shouldnt be criticized for it. I have many friends who date poor guys from the favela (a slang for a Brazilian slum), even though they know their boyfriends are only using them for money and clothes. Middle/upper class men are white, which is the type of men I prefer. They are also more educated, intelligent, have the habbit of reading and know how to hold a good conversation, and so are more interesting to me. Poor black men are shallow, uneducated, always homophobic and sexist, and have nothing on their minds but sports and sex. Its MY right to freely pick the people I should date. No one else can decide it for me."

    Yes, this gay is gay and probably suffered a lot of discrimination for it. If it was a straight girl posting this, I would simply consider her a bitch. But since its someone closer to me, I feel like I should be more empathetic to him, just because hes also gay. But on the other hand, I also feel like he should know better. And of course, hes not the only one. Thousands of other minorities also have prejudices of their own. I would just like to know why this still happens.
     
    #1 GingerGuy, Oct 4, 2013
  2. ScatteredEarth

    ScatteredEarth
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    Everyone's open to their opinions on how they see things. Whether or not we like it, it's gonna happen. There really isn't much you CAN say to this guy. He has his mindset all wrong, but then again, who's to say he doesn't think the same way of us.
     
    #2 ScatteredEarth, Oct 4, 2013
  3. prism

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    We are creatures of judgement. In my opinion, it is more "politically correct" to acknowledge our differences than to pretend they don't exist.
     
    #3 prism, Oct 4, 2013
  4. Argentwing

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    Because people are stupid. Receiving unfair judgment often isn't enough to make the person aware of how they treat others. George Carlin said it best: "Think of how dumb the average person is. Then realize that half of them are dumber than that."

    ^^That's not to say that lack of intelligence is the ONLY deciding factor. Also present is the fact that we never see the whole of a person's story. Judgment is easy when we see only one external variable when there are dozens of invisible ones.
     
    #4 Argentwing, Oct 4, 2013
    Last edited: Oct 4, 2013
  5. Aussie792

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    I don't think that many people are inherently stupid. However, indoctrination into ideas that are opposed to critical and independent thinking render many people permanently "stupid."

    Discriminating against one person justifies discriminating against all. The tragedy of the commons; it's in our best interest to discriminate against others for our benefit, but all minorities discriminating against one-another creates a situation where nothing will be done, and the privileged won't get any of the attack.
     
    #5 Aussie792, Oct 5, 2013
  6. Pocky

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    Just to build on this, I believe that most minorities have the agenda of acceptance but very different ideas of how that's achieved.

    An example for the Indigenous Australian community; There are some that think the road to improving their situation is trying and be "more white". However there are others which believe keeping in line with traditions and rejecting white society is the better option. The differences in opinion are what divide minorities.
     
    #6 Pocky, Oct 5, 2013
  7. Harve

    Harve
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    For a start, just because someone belongs to a minority group it doesn't mean they've experienced discrimination.
     
    #7 Harve, Oct 5, 2013
  8. Pocky

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    You don't need to have actually been directly discriminated against to experience discrimination.

    I've never been gay bashed/made fun of etc. but I still experience discrimination because I can't get married in my country.
     
    #8 Pocky, Oct 5, 2013
  9. Siarad

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    I came across a profile on a lesbian dating website and the 'looking for' section ended with 'and no black girls, please, I'm not being racist, I'm just not into that at all'. Well, maybe we could debate for ages whether making those comments does make her racist or not but it was definitely a complete turnoff for me! I'm not sure how anyone can write off attraction to an entire skin colour (or range of skin colours, since it's hard to work out exactly what she meant by 'black'). I'm not sure whether dating websites should allow you to filter on the basis of race / skin colour, since most profiles have pictures anyway and you decide whether you like the look of someone based on those. This stand-up comedy routine from Shappi Khorsandi highlights some of the discrimination issues that concern me about dating websites - the relevant bit starts at 4:07.

    Shappi Khorsandi Live At The Apollo - YouTube
     
    #9 Siarad, Oct 5, 2013
  10. Night

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    Because some people, like myself, never faced discrimination in the first place.

    If someone isn't being told "You're a fag, you're disgusting, THE BIBLE!!!!!!" then I don't think it's fair to say they've been discriminated against.
     
    #10 Night, Oct 5, 2013
  11. resu

    resu
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    It's part of human nature to group people into "them" and "us". We do it every day, subconsciously and consciously. There was a great segment on 60 minutes showing that even babies will demonstrate an apparently instinctive bias. However, the end of the episode also shows that as that kids grow up, they become more generous and less biased.
    Born good? Babies help unlock the origins of morality - 60 Minutes - CBS News
     
    #11 resu, Oct 5, 2013
  12. Argentwing

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    If society as a whole is against it though (which it's safe to say is the case until GSM isn't even an issue) then they ARE getting the short straw, just indirectly.

    It is important too to recognize exactly what "discrimination" means. It is identifying a group as separate for one reason or another and treating them differently. It doesn't have to be an openly hateful shout of "You're a fag!" to qualify.
     
    #12 Argentwing, Oct 5, 2013
  13. GreenSkies

    GreenSkies Guest

    So if someone isn't currently being verbally assaulted, but would like the guaranteed right to say... visit their partner in the hospital should that ever be necessary or want to come out without the fear of being fired from their job...then they aren't facing discrimination? While being called a fag or disgusting is certainly hurtful and I'm sure going through that is an awful experience, not having rights is probably a worse problem in the long run.
     
    #13 GreenSkies, Oct 5, 2013
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