Some Things Shared In Common
Everyone is a member of some group or another. As soon as a group is defined in any detail,
the chances are good that the members of the group represent less than 50% of the population.
Given that, just about any group you can think of represents a minority of the population.
The term individual describes the ultimate minority of one. You are the only person just
like you. That is very powerful when it describes the combination of things you are, but
it also shuts out the ways in which you are like others. As you consider the ways in which
you are like some people and not like others, you may start to see how you are a member of
a minority group. In fact you may find you belong to several minority groups. Any group you
count yourself a member of that has less than half the population as members is in fact a
minority of the population.
Let's think about this term "minority group" a little further. The term has been widely
used and there seems to be a stereotype that being a member of a minority group is a
bad thing. Please think again. You might be an electrician who only works on elevator
controls and has the hobby of swimming competitively. In the total population of the
world there aren't many electricians let alone those who specialize in elevator controls.
When it comes to also having the hobby of swimming competitively, I imagine that narrows
the number enough that all could gather in a single large hotel and have a great
convention. In such a case I doubt if any of the people so defined would see anything
negative about their common characteristics. Non the less, they are a minority group since
they are a small portion of the population who share common characteristics. My point is
that minority groups are everywhere; all that is required is a definition that lists the
things the people in the group share in common and people willing to stand up and say
"yes, that describes me". Now granted, there will be a lot more to each individual member
of a group than just the characteristics the group is based on. To give a wild example,
some of the elevator, electrician, swimmers may also be mean hateful people. Others may be
saintly. If you happen to know one of the elevator, electrician, swimmers that is also a
mean hateful person, you shouldn't assume that all elevator, electrician, swimmers are mean
and hateful. That would be an injustice to all the others. It may also deprive you of the
privilege of making friends with some of the saintly or ordinary elevator, electrician,
swimmers.
As people group themselves or are grouped by others into defined minority groups, one of
the things that happens is that everyone has a chance to compare themselves to the known
list of characteristics to see if they fit. They also decide if they want to belong to a
given minority group. Since there are few visibly defined minority groups, many if not
most people, have a tendency to define themselves in terms like they are "not a member
of" this group or that group. If you think about it, you can likely define several
minority groups you belong to whether there are public definitions for those groups or not.
We, as Americans, are in love with the idea that we are all individuals. We tend to see
the freedom to be who we are as individuals as a fundamental freedom. We are also caught
within the conflict this causes when we also expect everyone to be "the same as me". This
need for others to be like us is at the root of our personal security. After all, anyone
different than you is likely to be a threat to you, your way of life, etc. Therefore it's
okay to be individual, but only with in certain limits. The problem is that people come in
a much greater variety than comfortably fit in these limits and the limits keep changing.
The limits change because they are defined by each person who meets someone new and decides
if the new person fits in with them or not.
So how can we make life better for others and ourselves? To start with, recognize that
our sameness tends to be limited to pretty general terms. That is things like we eat,
we drink, we sleep, we love, etc. When you get into the details at all, we start becoming
members of minority groups. Also recognize that being a member of a minority group is
not necessarily a bad thing. A minority group is simply a group of people, making up
less than 50% of the population that share things in common. Then figure out what minority
groups you are a member of. Take pride in your membership in those groups. Because your
group represents a unique portion of the population, you have something special and rare
to contribute to the overall human society. Now, be aware of other minority groups,
publicly defined or not, and be tolerant or them. After all, you are a minority member
too. Members of other minorities may indeed enrich your life. Put aside the stereotypes
and give understanding a chance.
Copyright © by Liesel Siobhan
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