I hate discrimination. As much as I hate the premise of discrimination, I hate what it has become – a political buzzword used to label anyone whose morals, values or beliefs would in someway oppress another's lifestyle.
In no way do I deny that discrimination exists – in fact I believe it thrives – but I also believe that too many of us use the word as a crutch. American society is truly unique. We demand equality yet persistently work to define our individuality. We are often too absorbed in ourselves, our struggles, our needs, that we automatically label even the slightest perceived injustice as discrimination.
So please note: If I don't like you, it's not because you're black, white, or brown. It's not because you're male, female, or both. It's not your religion or lack of. If I don't like you, it's just because I don't... so please don't take it the wrong way.
I preface my post with this because I do tend to lean toward the prescriptive side of things but would not classify myself as discriminatory. I believe that every language needs a baseline – a set of rules that govern the language. We need a system that will allow the most people to communicate with each other. We need to find value in the language as a collective whole.
I am a native English speaker. I also speak a foreign language and have attempted to learn two others. I could not have done it if there wasn't a language standard. There is a high level of prejudice against those who can't speak English and live in the US. We want them to learn it – so is it discrimination against them not to have standardized English?
I have a new respect and appreciation for the dialects that are found in US. This class has opened my eyes to their cultural values and has helped me to erase some of the misconceptions and prejudices. But it has not erased the value of having a commonly shared and understood dialect – to have standardized English.
Well, thanks for reading everyone. Have a great night
Your blog, I think, approaches briefly what I addressed in my own.
ReplyDeleteNamely, that the "instinctual" leftist (whom one might see as suffering from a 'banking method of education') is really very uncritical in his or her examination of what exactly defines Prejudice.
We are in agreement that Racism is not absent from American culture and it is comforting to realize that others do not react to certain positions with the same banal perceptions.
You make some excellent points. It has made me realize that we all need to help learn other dialects to be able to communicate with different races
ReplyDeleteIn exploring this assignment, I too came to the same conclusion: standard language is the key for individuals within a comunity being able to communicate effectively with one another.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that the United States in unique in that we are a melting pot of culture.
Although I too consider myself more of a prescriptivist, we cannot expect others (especially people not native from the U.S) to completly absorb a set of language guildlines to abide by. Asking that would be like asking everyone to convert to Christianity!
I liked what you had to say. I totally agree that some people are constantly looking for ways to use the discrimination card. I also think that English needs to have set guidelines and rules.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you, i feel the same way if i don't like you its because I don't like your personality not because your black white brown or yellow.
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