Of Diversity and Divisiveness

Whatever happened to the melting pot? When I was growing up, lo those many years ago, America was proud of how many cultures from around the world were able to come together with common purpose and become simply . . . Americans.

Now, the catch-phrase is diversity. We must celebrate our differences. Industry, education, small business, entertainment and social groups must recognize, honor and accommodate these differences. But never -- ever -- ever -- ever use these differences in describing or looking for someone suspected for a crime. That would be racist.

But all of this has made our view of different races and cultures rather schizophrenic. Dependent upon the situation, recognizing the difference between races, religions and cultures can be viewed as a positive or a negative thing. Also, it depends upon which side of the fence you are on.

When it comes to hiring, firing, discipline, college acceptance, housing, etc., America is supposed to have a blind eye towards these racial/cultural differences. Unless of course (and purely through coincidence) the most qualified people don't happen to include enough of a particular racial/religio/ethnic grouping. Then we should have taken these differences into account when hiring, firing, etc.

Racial profiling is wrong. Our legal system is racist. Our penal system is racist. Why? Because 80% of this nation's criminals come from 12% of the population. But our police are never to look toward the usual suspects in solving a crime. That would prove the specious charge of racism.

I read, yesterday, that Survivor is adding another twist to their show next season. In the past, they have divided the tribes based upon their sex and their age. This season they are planning on starting with four tribes based upon race -- blacks, Asians, Latinos, and whites.

This came about after the producers received some complaints about the show not having enough racial diversity among the contestants. Jeff Probst, the shows host, said they decided to turn the criticism into a positive. Thus the idea was born.

This morning, I read that some senior NYC officials are condemning the new season of Survivor as racist. They claim the show could cause racial division and encourage negative stereotypes. HELLO! I thought you people wanted to point out your differences. Isn't that what diversity is all about. And what is wrong with stereotypes? By definition they illustrate common behaviors or actions by an individual or group. They reflect reality. Sure, they may be easy pickin's for lazy writers -- but they do exist.

So let me sum up:

Diversity is when members from a particular racial/religious/cultural group recognize their differences from other groups and use it to their advantage to gain access or to fend off criticism.

Racism is when anyone outside of that group recognizes those same characteristics and works for the common good despite those differences.