"Our objective is complete freedom,, complete justice, complete equality, by any means necessary." - Malcom X

Complete freedom is the ability to do what you can, without hindrance because of what others think you are. that is, the ability to be true to one's own nature. Freedom is often confused with equality, but freedom is concerned with equality 'from the start', not equality of 'outcome'. This happens because freedom is not justice. Complete justice is when you get what you deserve, and are not denied what you deserve because someone else gets something they do not deserve. Under the understanding that "all men are created equal", we should then expect to see roughly equal outcomes between any large enough groups of people. If we do not, then that suggests that we do not have complete equality between those two groups. If X does not equal Y, then either there is some inherent difference between X and Y, or X and Y seem different to us, from a point of view, because we are looking at them in different ways. Since we know that there is no large and inherent difference between large enough groups of human beings, that must mean that inequality between large enough groups of people is due to us, and not us and them. 

We know there are no major differences, but what does that mean? Certainly there are differences of a sort between any two large groups of people, such as color, nation, language, health, or work. Indeed, we would be surprised to see exact equality between two groups of people. So, what we are looking for is equality within a range - not an absolute range, but a relative range. We expect that these two groups of people would be on average similar enough to each other that if we mixed them together again and then separate them into two different groups again, but not two groups exactly like the old groups, that we would see the same relative equality, or general similarity of difference, between those two new groups. If there is a difference between two groups where one group is not similar to the other group, then there is a reason for that difference. Thus, while you can easily pick any two groups and show that there is a difference between them, it takes time and effort to prove that there is no difference between those two groups. Here then, is one of the problems of groupism or racism - that it is easier to say and show that some group is different than another by picking your examples, then it is to debunk that claim. Moreover, an understanding of the debunking of the claim of difference requires an open mind willing to accept proof to the contrary of what you believe or what is advantageous for you, and groupism, and racism, are not generally associated with such open attitudes. It requires more energy and force to remove a prejudice than it does to maintain it. 

To be willing to do absolutely anything to achieve what you want requires a conviction to last through hard times, a hard enough nail to drive a hole in an inflated ego or hard-shelled bunker to let the air circulate, patience to wait for the youth, who seek out the scent of free air like a bear seeks honey, and the ability to live in a glass house. The first three are easily found, if not easily directed, but the fourth is exceedingly rare because it does not at first appear to be necessary. However, you will find that complete freedom, and complete justice, to be achieved, require complete responsibility. 


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

“The highest art…sets down its creations and trusts in their magic, without fear of not being understood.” - Herman Hesse

"Never argue with a man whose job depends on not being convinced.” - H.L. Mencken

“An army, like a serpent, travels on its belly.” - Frederick II