Is discrimination natural? Let’s take a look at human behavior. Who are our friends and associates? It is natural to gravitate to people who share common interests, have common goals, and are much like ourselves.
We often openly voice our discrimination on who dates our daughters, as none ever seem good enough (at least at first). Our buddies are much like us in many ways, so we feel comfortable with them. It is when someone different comes along that we feel guarded in our speech and actions, much like a first date. It is natural.
An Accidental Social Experiment
Past lottery winners were gathered for an anniversary celebration of the lottery. There were 1 million dollar winners, 20 million dollar winners, 50 million dollar winners, and so on, gathered in a large group with reporters and everyone was having a good time. Reporters noticed however that in a short time that groups began forming with 1 million dollar winners, 20 million dollar winners, 50 million dollar winners and each group seemed to look down their noses at the groups who had won lesser amounts. None of these people from the smallest winner the greatest winner had exhibited anything special other than pure luck. Why? It was purely because of what they had in common, the amount they had won. The reporter spoke to a lottery official about his observation and the official mixed these people when seated for dinner. After the dinner, when these people began to mingle, these same groups gravitated together once again. Had all these people been $100 winners, how would the groups have formed then?
It is no surprise that other groups discriminate on a multitude of reasons: age, race, religion, social status, politics, national origin, disability, and the list goes on and on.
Let’s discuss one in particular, race. It has surfaced in the news with the Teyvon Martin case and caused a number of such articles to be written about race discrimination. The question is, are ethnic groups different? The answer is an astounding Yes.
Research has shown, SAT scores show Asians with the highest scores in Math of all groups and Verbal skills slightly below White students. Hispanics score in the middle above Blacks. What is the reason for these results? It is my belief that the Asian students come from more motivated and effluent families that were able to leave Asia after the Vietnam era to come to the United States. Poorer Asians stayed in Asia, thus skewing the results. Hispanics on the other hand, both rich and poor, have been in this county as long as it has existed, but Hispanics make up more of the population of lesser paid people and it seems to reflect in those numbers. Whites, also make up rich and poor but are higher paid than others.
What do income levels mean? It means families with higher income levels are able to provide better learning conditions starting from an early age and maintaining it through the child’s life. Are different ethnic groups smarter than others? There has been no credible IQ scores to show this, simply because IQ has a poorly defined term. All ethnic groups do have high IQ members, but to make a broad sweeping determination it is not possible. It gets back to nature verses nurture. Some kids naturally seem to do well in adverse conditions while others need coaching and more outside help from parents. That is why you see brilliant kids rising from the ghetto environment and others who are successful by watching and learning from educated parents.
Up and into the WWII era Blacks were openly discriminated against and lived in their own communities. Communities that were functional but at lower standards than White communities. Through pressure on Washington, laws were changed by Lyndon Johnson, and others, were key in trying to reverse that problem. Affirmative action, hiring quotas, integration of schools, and many other programs designed to help Blacks move up the ladder Whites had denied. Some programs helped, while some did not. Programs continued to evolve to try and remedy this disparity. Welfare and other social programs were enacted to help the poor, and the Blacks made up a large percentage of the poor. By doing this it became a double edged sword. It removed a lot of motivation of those who received it. It was designed to help those out of poverty and into a productive life. It worked well with many, and for many it had the reverse effect. As a civilized society we need to help people who are victims of economics. It was an investment in American people, some investments did not pay off and continue to drain the overall system designed to help them.
Welfare is not just Black, but welfare has gotten the connotation of being for Black recipients. It is not, it is for the poor, whomever they are. Blacks are of the greater percentage of the poor and it should be no surprise they are a greater number of recipients, but it is the economic status rather than the color of their skin.
White people, who make up a large percentage of the affluent, pay more in taxes that support these programs and resent the lack of motivation it has caused. That resentment has been targeted on the Blacks. So, whose fault is it? It is the fault of a dysfunctional program.
In WWII, Micronesia, a small island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean had a strategic military value to the United States during the war. Micronesia was a functional society with fishermen and villagers meeting their needs and completely independent of outside help. That was until the military came in and built a naval base there, disrupting their balanced economy as well as their way of life. The United States provided food, and welfare to the people for the damages they had caused. Years after the war, the base had closed, the people were unmotivated, health issues arose, crime and alcoholism became rampant. The best intentions do not always end with the desired result. Note: None of the Micronesian people were Black.
Days of “Whites Only” are long gone and many Blacks have melded into society to become pillars of the community and the nation. A Black man can become President, and others, such as Colin Powell, Condolizza Rice, Clarence Thomas, and Oprah Winfree, just to name a few, and the list is long. They all understood what it took to get where they are and did it- and gained the respect of all
The other side of the coin is that the closer we come to total equality the greater the resentment is for the difference. This resentment manifests itself in gangs, hate groups, and bigotry on both sides. Often times the Media helps fan the embers causing large fires to erupt, for the sake of newsworthiness and sales.
Will it ever end? Yes, eventually, but there will always be something to hate or be against that we do not agree with.