EMAIL EXCERPTS 10/09
Discussing prejudice with a friend he wrote: " My thinking is that we have a long way to go towards (eliminating) prejudice, and the solution is to keep pushing. But more importantly I believe is the time factor. 1000 years from now they will look back and say "What were they thinking?"
I don't think it was until I read what he wrote that I realized my feelings had changed over the years. I used to believe as he does, but not anymore. I wrote back: ". . . (We like to believe that we) have the power to "progress" toward a goal of world peace, love, intelligence and tolerance. A world without prejudice and hate. That we’re able to conceive of such an ideal would seem to indicate its potential. I simply don't believe humanity, as we know it, will reach it. Even in another 1000 years."
(1000 years ago): Out of curiosity I searched the year 1009. One of the first things that popped up was this: In the year 1009, the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim bi-Amr Allah ordered the Church of the Holy Sepulcher destroyed. Pilgrims to the Holy Land were captured and clergy were killed. Muslims were destroying Christian churches, capturing people who were only guilty of making a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, and (of course) killing clergy. Sounds like it might be a headline tomorrow.
On the whole, It is humanity's “Pride in who we think we are” that will prevent us from becoming who and what we could be. On the positive side, I do have tremendous faith in individual evolution and possibilities. . . . Just not faith in everyone at the same time.
“When speaking of a need to legislate against "hate crimes", I think logical people all agree. HATE CRIMES: The words demand reaction. To stand against Crimes of HATE simply reeks of doing the right thing. To be honest though, I don't think each and every special group must have separate laws to cover crimes of hate against them. Seems silly. If we need to satisfy an apparent need we have for more severe punishments, well. . Hate is HATE. It should be sufficient to add it as an attribution to any crime of prejudice. Gays are the most recent group now demanding separate legislation. What's next , bullies and alchoholics?
I don't believe we can successfully legislate "discrimination", if that's the goal. With enough time and laws, some progress certainly has and will be made, but with a social body as large and ever changing and ever shrinking as ours. . . I don't think so. Unfortunately, prejudicial crimes and retribution have been, and probably always will be, part of the scenario. We're a tribal species. Profiling enemies is part of our survival technique. . . whether it's politically correct to do so or not.”
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