Saturday 28 August 2010

Issues of Equality

A rather daft, rather short essay on the idea of equality and how we live. Not to be taken too seriously. Written end of 2008, I believe.

Issues of Equality


Human beings talk a lot of shit. Apparently, it makes life easier. But appearances are deceptive. The things we imagine, the things we believe, can be distracting. And the things we imagine to be true, we believe to be true, can distract us from the truth. Let me explain…

I was in a classroom today, a cool December day, and I spied a poster emblazoned with a slogan akin to “WE ARE ALL EQUAL!” I nodded at that; it’s a nice idea. It is acceptable to imagine and believe we are all equal. However, I soon realised that I was imagining a thing to be true that was, in fact, shit. As a statement of truth, it is a bullshit statement. However, as a directive, a guiding concept, it is justice. Again, let me explain…

We are not equal. If equal means ‘the same’ then it is clearly nonsense. If equal is ‘equivalent to’, that is also untrue. Pas example, Adolph Hitler is in no way equal to Stevie Wonder. They are not physically – Stevie Wonder being a blind, black, soulful singer and Adolph Hitler was a rumoured-testicularly-deficient, white, impassioned man of hate. Their skills and talents are also incomparable. Hearing Hitler’s terrifyingly powerful speeches, one gets the impression that he would not have had the vocal capacity to belt out a successful classic like ‘Superstition’. By contrast, when one sees Wonder perform, all warmth and smiles, it seems entirely apparent that he does not have the moral (in)capacity to attempt the extermination of an entire race of people.

Therefore, it can be seen that humans are not equal – not in form, not in worth and not in treatment. So, if we are not equal, should we not treat people unequally? Generally, I think we should treat each other equally. However, as we see ourselves as equal we do not have to deal with the fact that we are not. More explanations to follow…

We humans walk around with such stupid ideas such as:

“Brussel sprouts aren’t nice.*”

“We live in a democracy.”

“The ten commandments are good tenets whatever your faith.”

and

“We are all equal.”

We never think about the consequences of having these beliefs. When we see a homeless person we get by, ignoring the dilemma because “we are all equal.” The student that is being bullied by their peers and teachers because of their gender, ethnicity, race, sexuality, whatever is not really being mistreated because “we are all equal.” Third world hunger, ha! “we are all equal.” Domestic abuse, social unrest, American hegemony, obesity, drug addiction, depression, dyslexia, autism, necrophiles, paedophiles, victims of paedophiles: they can all fuck off because “we are all equal.”

Obviously, no one really thinks this. However, all the horrors in the world are ignored because we lie back in the hammocks of fallacies. It’s all far too comfortable to motivate us to sit up and face reality. Because we are comforted and contented by the belief that we are equal, we ignore the dilemma that is the reality of inequality.

Here’s what I think the truth is: Not one of us is equal to another.

However, none of us are naturally notably superior. We are all different and it is these differences that make life unequal. It is our evaluations of these differences that make life unequal. Going back to the Bible, we can see in the story of David and Goliath that physical superiority does not mean diddly-squat. It cannot justify or even guarantee dominance. These days, there are lots of Davids getting stomped on by Goliaths, it’s just, these days, the Goliaths get away with their big placards of “WE ARE ALL EQUAL!” One day, I like to think, the Davids will say ‘enough,’ kill the Goliaths and become Kings. All of them Kings – different Kings, but equal. Sorry for such a sexist metaphor but it’s based on a story that’s from a very unequal time.

A good while ago, I was in a classroom as the one being taught and not the teacher. We were learning about the beginning of America and its slave society (subtle changes…subtle changes…). The teacher mentioned how the Declaration of Independence also declared that “ALL MEN ARE EQUAL.**” He asked, with quiet disgust, how men could be equal if they were slaves. I answered that the declaration does not say that “ALL MEN SHOULD BE TREATED EQUALLY.”

In truth, that Declaration banters about an idea that means very little – it’s shit. However, just because something is bullshit as a truth does not mean it should not be a guiding concept. It is time to stop being distracted by the nice things we imagine and believe and to start being motivated by the nice things we desire.

Peace and love,
Chris Caps.


*Brussel sprouts are versatile and tasty. They are just too frequently boiled into disgusting, soggy mini-cabbages. Even if you don’t like them, stop following the farcical tradition of whopping them on your Christmas plate.


** The Declaration of Independence was written a considerable many years after The Bible. However, unequal views were as apparent as ever. At the time, I was not aware of the sexism in language, hence my own ignorant response that shortly follows.

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