Favoritism bothers me. It probably doesn’t bother a lot of people. It’s not really known as an ugly word like all the other isms, but isn’t it really the root of all of them? Why do we only considerer it bad when it pertains to things like race, gender, religion, or nationality? Aren’t all biases against people actually bad? Have they just not gotten around to protecting all the other potential attributes that could prevent one from getting hired or accepted into society? How bad does the bias have to get before we turn it into a protected class?
I also don’t think this is only a problem for a select minority. I don’t think there is a single person on this planet who is unaffected by prejudice. Even if you managed to be born into the majority, there is going to be something that sets you apart and causes someone to have a bias against you. If nothing else, wait a few years and discover that ageism is one of the most prevalent biases.
I think the problem is we actually like favoritism. We like the idea of choosing which flavor of ice cream is best, which brand of clothes are the most stylish, which restaurant is worthy of a five star rating on Yelp, etc. We objectify practically everything, then proceed to critique it, rate it, elevate it, or downgrade it. I’m sure that’s the real reason the like button became so popular. We have discerning tastes, and we love to upvote and downvote everything. Of course, objects can’t complain and probably don’t have feelings, but people do.
I don’t have an answer to this problem. Probably no one does. We will continue to favorite things and objectify people. It’s just what humans do, but it does bother me.
What are your thoughts? Ever experienced a bias? How does it make you feel to be excluded? Will we get to the point where everyone is accepted? Let me know in the comments and don’t forget to like, subscribe, follow, and share!
Ken's Life 