There Are No “People”
Generalizations and stereotypes don’t serve us well.
I am a Holistic / Humanist reverend. That’s what I do. More importantly, that’s who I am. I am whole-heartedly pro-people. With that said, I’m writing this story to highlight a few things. Not to worry, I’m not about to preach or “convert”. I’m on a quest to shed light on some common misconceptions.
People
There are no “people”. As individuals we are very different. We share experiences that are universal, life’s milestones, individual and collective concerns but we are not cookie cutter identical. To complicate matters further, there are no races, ethnicities, nationalities or genders.
Gender aside, in our essence we are equally human and when chips are down it isn’t our gender that comes to play but our integrity.
Race, ethnicity and nationality: we have stereotypes that we don’t seem to be able to let go of. Before we examine each, let’s take a closer look at genocides. Each genocide’s goal was to totally eliminate certain group of people, but since the very concept of “people” is faulty, eliminating a group of people with undesirable qualities always includes the best of people among those branded as “bad”! Genocide of any kind, against any group of people is a crime against humanity.
Race, ethnicity, nationality: yes, we have prejudices. Had we bothered trying to understand them, we could move on without them….
In general people are afraid of differences: we are predisposed and trained to look for similarities. When we encounter someone who looks (to examine only one example) differently than we do, the first impulse is to create a safe distance. This may well be a normal reaction however we shouldn’t be too fine to bother looking similarities. They are there and it is the similarities in circumstances, experiences, character, beliefs, interests, etc. that can help us discover one another and connect. The outer difference means nothing if you weigh it against significant inner similarity.
Nationality and ethnicity? We are not just biased, we have a large menu of expressions crafted specifically to express our bias! No, I’m not a saint: I have a history, I evolved into the person I am today.
Just like you, I don’t automatically like foreigners. Years ago, four young Pakistani men moved to an apartment next to mine. I didn’t know them. (To my horror, one was actually wearing a turban!) We occasionally exchanged a “hello” in passing. One of them was nice to my dog (I lived alone with my dog at the time) and we spoke briefly. That’s how I learned that they are medical doctors from Pakistan working to have their medical degrees recognized in the United States. That’s it. You might say, the rest of the time we ignored each other, politely. (One more thing, I didn’t like the way their food smelled.)
And then, I saw them all up close, very up close. I passed out on the floor of my apartment one day. They didn’t see me walk my dog. So they bravely decided to break in to check on me. When I came to, I’ve seen four very ethnic faces — including one wearing a turban — trying hard to bring me back to life. They examined me, asked me questions and provided me with emergency treatment. We didn’t need to call 911. Needless to say, we became good friends and I never since judged a book by its cover. No one will ever tell me that all Pakistanis are terrorists. My four Pakistani friends loved America as much as I do and were in no way inferior to my “white” friends. Yes, I tried their food, too. We ate many dinners together. Their food is different from ours. It isn’t bad, it’s different and healthier than our own. (As for the one wearing a turban, I learned that he was a Sikh, a member of one of the most Humanist of theistic religions.)
[bctt tweet=”There is no standard of measurement by which to measure “people”.” username=”HumanistChurch1″]
We — the white Americans — have many easy generalizations.
• These people (insert the words that apply) are dangerous and temperamental
• These people (insert the words that apply) are lazy
• These people (insert the words that apply) are cheap
• These people (insert the words that apply) are dishonest
• These people (insert the words that apply) are too smart and too ambitious
• These people (insert the words that apply) are too greedy
• These people (insert the words that apply) take our jobs
we have a long list of those.
Worse yet, the poor resent the rich. The rich dislike the poor. The pretty dislike the less pretty, and so on. You get the idea.
Now let’s talk about me: you could describe me as white and female. You could describe me by my profession, finances or religion. None of your descriptions would define the person I am. If I were to describe you the same way, the description wouldn’t define you well, either.
• These people (insert the words that apply) are dangerous and temperamental: not all of them
• These people (insert the words that apply) are lazy: not all of them
• These people (insert the words that apply) are cheap: and many of them can be very generous
• These people (insert the words that apply) are dishonest: some are, just as much as the rest of us
• These people (insert the words that apply) are too smart and too ambitious: they are, isn’t it motivating?
• These people (insert the words that apply) are too greedy: do you know someone who isn’t?
• These people (insert the words that apply) take our jobs: would you really want THESE jobs?
Don’t be fooled by generalizations and stereotypes, they are man-made and fake. They were created to divide us. Don’t judge a person until you get to know them. Don’t forget that no one wears their humanity on a sleeve. We are more alike than different.
