Hey folks. Before I dive straight into the thick of things, I'd like to say that Yowza, March 15th seems awful close right now. Probably shouldn't have set it so close, but we'll see if I can still get it out of the gate by then. Anyway, onto the topic.
Equality is something that people have always been fighting for, and is something that people will likely fight for in the future. The United States of America was based in equality, among other things, or at least equality between rich white men.
Now the playing field has leveled quite a bit, in terms of all sorts of equality. Sexism, Racism, Religionism, Ageism, and Anhedonism have been reduced quite a bit. Women can now run for President, black people can now run for President, Buddhist people can run for President, and 12-year-olds, well they can watcht he news to see Buddhist women running for President.
Equality has come a long way, and I believe that it will continue to go a long way, but that we should be very careful about equality. As Ayn Rand demonstrates in Atlas Shrugged, we should not want to push equality too far.
An example I heard in English class was that of women firefighters. Some women who were rejected from the firefighting squads were done so because they couldn't lift a ladder of a certain weight. These women argued that the rules of lifting this ladder were sexist, as smaller-framed women couldn't lift the weight.
Makes sense, but in a flawed way. Because, as for most equality as I am, I'd rather have a squad of all men
who can lift the goddamn ladder to save my life than a Team Equality of people sitting around as I burn.
Another example of which I heard in class (Math this time around) was about a Caucasian actor playing the role of an Asian man in the movie 21. I had no problem with this, while my math teacher took offense.
The way I see it, this was no different from the casting of a black actor in a white role in the movie Thor. While both caused uproar, the reaction to a white man taking over an Asian role is seen more negatively, because of the lack of many Asian protagonists in Hollywood.
I think, plain and simple, that the best person for the job should be chosen. Should race be considered? Sure. I wouldn't want a white slave in Django Unchained, but if the race is malleable, don't make it the defining feature. If you find the best actor for the role, choose them. Not the okay person who happens to be the same race as the person you are basing them off of.
Something else that pisses me off is the stupid thing that colleges can take minority students over mainstream (I couldn't think of another word here) ethnicity students to bolster minority percentages. Same reasons as above.
Equality should be about making the requirements for something equal, not making sure a minority gets the position. That's true equality, not the fancy schmancy inequality we get today.
Choosing a black person to go to X college because of their race over a white person? Exactly as racist as choosing a white person over a black person because of their race.
Femenism is equally as sexist as chauvinism.
Unfortunately, all of my claims apply to an ideal world. Not one where females were demeaned for centuries, where non-whites were demeaned for centuries, or one where non-Christians were demeaned for centuries. Unfortunately, we hit the triple whammy.
I try not to take these things into account. But there are little pieces of inequality that each of us carries, and that's okay.
I only find myself attracted to females. Sexism. Most of the characters I author-surrogate into my stories are white Jews. Racism and Religionism. When I think of a hero, I think of a male. Sexism. When I think of a president, male. Sexism.
And that's okay. Inequality is okay for some things. Just don't make a habit out of it.
Thanks for reading and considering,
-J. Valett
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