Saturday, February 04, 2006

Prejudice vs. Discrimination

That’s the major paradigm shift of the 21st century -- that every discussion that was dominated by the need for “more,” evolves to the discussion of “better.” “More” was the driver of life in the 20th century. However, once there is sufficient, simply more is usually not better -- as in the phrase, “More is better.” The transformation in understanding is that “Better is something else entirely”

Because of the effectiveness of mass media and propaganda techniques, what was famously done was to substitute one attribute for another, such as in equating “more” to “better,” when on careful reflection -- more and better, are totally different qualities.

In that same way, “discrimination” was equated to “prejudice,” when they are actually the opposites. The master observer of these propaganda and mass media techniques was the journalist, George Orwell, who gave the alarm on such practices in his two famous works, Animal Farm and 1984. He illustrated how two mutually contradictory and exclusive thoughts could be manipulated to be the same.

To “discriminate” is simply to be able to tell the difference -- between one thing and another. It does NOT necessarily imply a lesser regard and treatment; it could mean an even higher regard and valuing of what one has been able to discriminate as superior attributes. Therefore, to ban all discriminations, does not allow one to distinguish good from bad, good from evil, right from wrong, better from worse.

“Prejudice” on the other hand, is actually this prohibition on making the proper discriminations as to what is good and bad, right and just. Most of life is good with a rare bad -- so the advice not to be allowed to make that distinction, determine the exception, sets one up for deception and manipulation -- which is what the mass media is perfecty suited for. It is one-way transmission of values imposed by one group of self-selected people on every other. Freedom of expression for everyone is not their objective; freedom only to impose "their" opinions is what that mass media is all about -- their control.

But that is simply one manifestation of media and not the ultimate evolution of media, which is transpiring as we speak. It is the living, breathing dynamism of ideas being formed in the dialogue -- and not merely conclusions imposed after the truth have been predetermined by the self-selected group -- who determine that they know better than everybody else what is best for everybody else. They are commonly denoted as “liberals”-- which supposedly implies and denotes a moral and intellectual superiority (as though at sometime in a clouded past, God passed down another set of Commandments, that superseded His previous writings, and appointed this special class of priests to interpret and administer these edicts).

The major prohibition then became, that it was forbidden to distinguish this difference between “discrimination” and “prejudice,” and by that device, one had to follow the pronouncements of the self-appointed class, that such as they pronounced, was what was “politically, morally and socially correct” -- unquestionably.

1 Comments:

At February 05, 2006 2:00 PM, Blogger Mike Hu said...

Why is athletics like politics?

Both are the exercise of power -- how to express it, manage it, and increase it. An important aspect of many games is the control of information and communications -- not only with others, but more importantly, within oneself. That is the first network one is introduced to early on in life. Unfortunately, many learn to cut themselves off from being in touch with their own bodies (selves) -- and become strangers to it, often even regarding it as an enemy, particularly among those who identify themselves as intellectuals, or merely the smart (“brains“)-- because they seem to be successful in the ways others reward them to be.

Whether that is a measure of intelligence or not -- is highly questionable, but going along with the program, seems to be the only game in town to impressionable minds. No alternatives are given except to be rewarded in that one -- or punished. That kind of conditioning is not preparation for a life of freedom and independence, but for a life of servitude to arbitrarily assigned masters.

If you ask the king, he will always advise you that freedom and equality is a very bad idea -- that you wouldn’t want to hve to deal with the responsibilities and accountability of thinking for yourself. You just need to go along to get along. Those who don’t obey these commands, mysteriously disappear -- and are shunned (in which you are allowed to participate) because they will not conform. They cease to exist -- because those who have appointed themselves the powers that be, refuse to acknowledge their existence.

After growing up, some people still play these games -- and wonder why the entity formerly known as mainstream press and institutions are collapsing all over the world and being replaced by all the new media (possibilities) created as a response to the old world of few or no choices.

You have a right to the best information available -- and not just what somebody is selling as the only way.

 

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