I am very aware of what is
known as a caste system in cultures and countries and that it still exists
today to the detriment of millions. It is a system by which one “caste” is
deemed more important and of higher value then those belonging to a lower caste.
Your caste is determined by the village you come from, what your family name
happens to be, and your involvement in a particular type of labor, vocation or
profession. It is another form of
racism. It is another way to devalue people based on externals and not, as
Martin Luther King Jr., would say, “the content of their character.” It is
discrimination in the worst of ways. No
matter how hard you work, and how successful you may become, you simply cannot
rise above your designated caste. And in many cultures, it is simply accepted
as the way things are.
Why is this important to me?
Because I am, evidently, a member of the lowest “caste” in the modern American
culture. Let me spell it out for you:
- I am a white, middle class, above middle age, American male.
- I am a conservative by nature and by choice.
- I am an evangelical Christian, which means I adhere to the values, practices and principles of the Holy Bible, to the best of my ability. The Bible, not culture, serves as my baseline of authority in determining right and wrong.
- I identify as heterosexual.
- I believe that shedding innocent blood is wrong, whether legal or illegal, whether born or unborn.
- I am now retired, own my home and, because I have lived according to a reasonably good financial plan for lots of years, have enough monthly cash flow to exist in an adequate fashion.
- My ancestors are from England and Scotland...white Europeans who migrated West to seek better living conditions for their family.
- I am reasonably patriotic. I love America and have no problem in believing we should defend our country and our freedom.
- I believe aliens to this country should be legal, not illegal.
- I believe that everyone who is able to work, should work and should pay their own way
- I own guns. More than one. I believe in reasonable regulations, but not oppressive and overly strict gun control by the government.
- I believe in gender equality, in terms of personal value. I also believe that there are some jobs and activities that, most often (there are always rare exceptions) lend themselves to being gender specific. Anyone is free to do what they choose, but there are some things that men tend to be better suited for and things that women tend to be better suited for. Intelligence and personal value have nothing to do with it.
Because of my “caste,” I am
automatically viewed in a negative light by many in this culture. These are some things that, of course, by the
list above, are automatically true of me.
- I am homophobic.
- I am bigoted.
- I am a bully.
- I am a misogynist.
- I am by definition, politically incorrect.
- I am insensitive to the plight and the condition of others.
- I am against handouts.
- I am rigid, religious and obnoxious.
- I do not understand or have a proper value of women
- I was born into privilege and therefore have no idea what it means to be poor or needy.
- I am a blindly loyal, flag waving zealot, and have no value for anyone not like me.
- I am a racist
- I am an enemy of civil liberties
- I am for joining church and state, not separating them.
So, what’s the problem? The
problem is, you don’t know me. I am being categorized and compared unfairly and
with extreme prejudice. And, because I am a white American heterosexual male,
that does not matter. The rules about being fair and non-judgmental simply
don’t apply to me. I am in a caste which I cannot change.
8 comments:
You expressed exactly my views so clearly. I only lend extra comment to having reasonable gun regulations. "Shall not be infringed" is pretty clear. It begins a slippery slope to decide who is "fit" to have guns and who is not. It is amazing the crazy things that can make all of us felons at this point in our country. You can drink to much and get in an accident. You can throw a phone at someone and accidentally cause injury. You can write a bounced check over $1000. With all of the new laws made daily while we are sleeping, we could ALL potentially be felons, or because of our beliefs be considered "a risk". On top of that, if I was a complete narcissist and had ulterior motive to do so and had the driver's seat on the regulations, I would say everyone who disagrees with me and I fear, who gets in the way of what I want, may be "unfit". This description is way too vague and totally dependent on whomever was able to gain the most power in society. These are "inalienable rights". "From God". We watch the, "Experts" change their minds when it is politically expedient almost daily, dare I say, "hourly" in some cases? Growing up in the seventies and even the eighties, I knew, if I stepped foot on a strangers' property for any reason, even retrieve my own ball that flew there, the owner may react somewhere between, "smile and throw me my ball", to a freak with a shotgun. I think it keeps people from getting out of control like they are today, needing "safe spaces" because someone called them a name. Annnndd....I digress. As always my brain lights up when I read your words. Thank you
Thanks for your response, Vicky. The gun thing is a difficult one, to be sure. I am for owning weapons, but as you say...it is a slippery slope to deny some for certain reasons. BUT...it is something that will never be 100% fixed, so to speak...so I am into "improvement" along the way, as well. More freedom, and less governmental controls is generally my preferred course.
I enjoy your posts so much. You are light in the darkness. Keep posting. It is nice to know I am not the only poor soul out there who believes as you do.
Thank you!
Awesome post, Mark -- I am not ashamed to be counted in your caste.
The reality is Mark, that your caste is not the lowest. In fact, until recently, unless one fit into this caste, they have been marginalized and believed to be even considered sub-human. Let us not now, nor ever forget, that MLK was speaking out against the vast majority in the South who would have considered themselves to be part of your caste. And that continues today.
I hear all the time how one does not consider themselves homophobic, racist, etc., but they fail to recognize their indifference and the impact of that indifference by allowing institutional bias to exist without calling it out. One of those would be our immigration system. It is broken. It no longer is the same as it was even 50 years ago. The barriers are too high for most in the immigrant class to surmount "legally." Yet, if one has $500,000 to invest in real estate they are given an immediate pass into the country. It does not get much more of a "caste system" than that.
The bottom line, those of us who fit into your caste or at least one close to it, for the first time in this nation's history, are being challenged. And we do not like it.
Those who have been previously marginalized have found a voice and are using it. We don't like it, because for the first time we are being marginalized and stereotyped in a way others have been for decades.
As Kierkegaard would say "Once you label me, you negate me."
Perhaps rather than allowing ourselves to be labeled and negated, we should use the privilege we have as part of our caste and start shifting the focus to removing the labels placed on anyone and start bringing us together as one - and removing caste or class systems altogether.
Thanks for the thoughtful response.
Labels, no matter what you call them (such as a caste) are ways to categorize, and compare...and that is always detrimental to love, understanding and inclusion. If you (not actually, you) are describing me...my characteristics, my background, etc...no problem. If you are labeling me with those same words to lock me into your preconceived pigeon hole...I reject that. I have no problem with white, middle/to upper income American males getting challenged by the young, women, so called progressives, etc. If it makes me look inside and see what is really there...so be it. However, it can be just another way of expressing prejudice and bigotry. It is uncomfortable for many of my similar status to look inside! Personal honesty is a hard thing to grasp. I continue to work at that...it is a work in progress, for sure. The point of my article is to encourage us to THINK before we label, stereotype, accuse and dislike. My "caste" has not been very good at that, and the chickens are coming home to roost. That being said...a healthy application of the Sermon on the Mount would be a HUGE step in the right direction for ALL of us. thanks again for your response.
So true Mark. I always tell folks that the greatest reference point for all of us and the answers to the issues of labeling and marginalization is the Sermon on the Mount. If we all just learned to love like Jesus, prejudice of any type would die on the cross.
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