Diversity: Categorizing System

People have the tendency to categorize everything, including themselves. It is human nature to categorize things to make a complex world simpler. This categorizing system is known as stereotyping. Stereotyping is an act of the subconscious mind and is not something that can be easily repelled. However, it is completely our decision to act on the subconscious categorizing or not. Discrimination is something that renders the present inaccessible and should be banished from society.

Diversity is to be cherished and celebrated. The term diversity is used broadly to refer to many demographic variables, including, race, religion, color, gender, disability and age. We have learned since elementary school that when there is diversity, we should respect it instead of spit on it. Diversity is important because it provides our society and culture with unique and inspirational perspectives. Diversity creates new ideas and changes that can be beneficial to a society, or even the world. Diversity teaches us to learn and

try to open our minds on new perspectives and ideas which result in shaping us as better human beings. Since diversity is a gift for society, we cannot insult it by discriminating and giving prejudiced treatment because someone is different.

What we are does not define who we are.

Our genders, races, nationalities, religions, disabilities, ages, and other things we are born with do not define what we can do. It is the choices we consciously made that categorise who we are instead of all the innate qualities that we were born with, since those are inevitably given. There are often cases where employees from other nationalities have higher salary than local employees with the same work and position. It should not be that way. How we are treated, in this example is measured by how high the salary is, is supposed to be based on our productivity and performance instead of our nationalities. That does not even make sense. Why would people with the same quality and ability and work have different treatment and salary? Everyone deserves equal start, opportunity, and treatment when we first meet them. Later on, it will be their characters, behaviours, and decency that make them different, not what they

are.

Discrimination is destructive. Hating is tiring. So why do so? Wayne W. Dyer once said that judgement prevents us from seeing the good that lies beyond appearance. We do not have to be identical twins to respect the values we hold. It is not a sin to be different yet respectfully treat one another. Life is too short to hate one another just because the difference of the amount of melanin in our skin, or the shape or our eyes. To hate takes more of our energy than to just accept. Discrimination only brings hatred, pressure, and tenseness to the society. How much of those negative things can our society take before it finally becomes dysfunctional and breaks eventually? Are we willing to test that? I reckon not. We have to put a stop before we are getting thoroughly destructed by discrimination in the society.

It is human nature to categorise everything but it is our choice to act on it or not. Human nature and narrow minds do not make discrimination a right thing to have in society. Everyone is an equal and shall be treated as so. Everyone deserves the same opportunity. Everyone is the same, and yet very different. We should celebrate diversity instead of hate it. We are all born the way we are; however, it is what we do that makes us different. Discrimination is destructive and it certainly does not lead to a better world. In the end, discrimination should not exist.