PREJUDICE AND DISCRIMINATION

Five sisters grew up in a depressed area of the city. The eldest one married a very wealthy man and had to learn the ways of the so-called upper class. The second through hard work and study became a well-respected doctor and also rose socially. The third lived as best as she could, working as a clerk. Of the other two, one was mentally challenged while the other worked menial jobs and supported her.

Things were so different now. Not like when they were younger and closer. People grow apart, that is the nature of life, but sometimes the younger ones felt deliberately excluded and shunned by their elder sisters. For one thing they were never invited to any of their older siblings' parties anymore. Well, that is not entirely true. There was that time when the three younger ones were invited to party with their richer sisters but, unfortunately, the $1,000.00 entrance fee to that particular venue is what excluded them then.

In time the third sister worked her way up in the business. It seemed odd and yet vaguely familiar when her eldest sister invited her over to celebrate her 50th birthday. She was delighted with the invitation until she learnt that her two younger sisters were not invited. She sent her regrets to her elder sister and stayed at home.

That night, while lying on her bed reminiscing on old times, the third sister recalled how united they all were when they were young. She particularly remembered when they missed a lottery jackpot by one number. Then each of them in their simplicity related what she would have done had they won. She remembered how each of them had such noble and humble plans, like helping the poor and doing community service projects. Nothing any one of the sisters wanted for herself extended beyond a' moderate size home, a good vehicle, and a modest income. Now instead of using wealth as a tool to build up communities they were using it as a wall to divide one class from another.

Surely, she thought, nothing could be wrong in trying to create a better life for oneself. Is it so impossible to rise above one's humble state without cutting oneself off from one's former community, acquaintances, friends and family? Does money really have to be used as a status symbol? Money seems to be the main thing which creates class distinction in the first place. When they were young, money was seen as a thing through which they got the necessities of life, —food, shelter, education. Now most of the money that the older sisters receive, goes into maintaining an illusion of social superiority.

Thirty years ago, it did not matter much how the neighbours, or the wider society looked upon them. Now the opinions that others have of them have taken on an inordinate significance, to the point where they would sacrifice their roots, their history, and their ancestry for it. But it was not their money but a false perception which enslaved them.

The third sister reminisced an old peeve that there is no difference between the land where the elder sisters live and that where the younger lives. The reason why one is twenty times the cost of the other is that people who are perceived in different ways live in the different districts. They basically eat and drink the same things in their parties, yet it costs fifty times more to go to a party in one domain than it is in the other. There is no difference between one sister and another apart from this generalized perception by society of class distinction. And that's just the thing. It is a generalised perception. All classes of society support the perception, so no one is guiltier in building class divisions than another. If the so-called lower classes did not covet the lives of the higher classes, the demand to be seen as higher classed would become minimal and class distinctions would disappear. No one would spend so much money to upkeep the illusion anymore."

Considering her own heart, this third sister knew that she was as guilty as her older sisters. She too coveted their lifestyle. That night this third sister thought about all this and felt as if her heart suddenly was liberated. In her evolving understanding, all the walls which held her captive within a perceived class began to crumble. She swore that she would no longer be confined by societal definitions of herself and her class.

Do you think that people use wealth more to divide themselves from others than to unite communities?

Are we all guilty of supporting class distinctions?

Are we all guilty of supporting class prejudice?

It has been said that it makes no sense having riches if you cannot flaunt them. What do you think?

How much importance do we place on the opinions which others have of us?

Do the opinions that others have of us make us change who we are?

Do the opinions that others have of us make us change how we see ourselves?

If a poor person becomes wealthy would that person have to discard old friends and make new ones?

How would wealth change you?

Can we be freer if we place less importance on how others view us and simply be ourselves?

Do we make distinctions between people on the basis of money, ethnicity, or religion?

In what ways do we put up walls around ourselves to exclude others?

Can the exclusion of a perceived "class" of people from certain social circles encourage jealousy and suspicion? Can it encourage bigotry and prejudice?

Are there good reasons sometimes not to associate with certain people?

Even though it was the easiest way to get to his evening classes, Lloyd never passed on Green Street. Members of his old gang would often be there, and he knew only too well how they resented him from disassociating himself from them. After his best friend was shot during a bloody clash with a rival gang, Lloyd knew there was no future for him in the old neighbourhood. He had to get out and the only way out which he saw was to get an education and a good job. But his old gang took this, as his thinking that he was better than them.

Suddenly they saw him as the enemy. Although they threatened him many times and even vandalized his mother's house twice, Lloyd persisted with his studies and eventually succeeded in moving his mother and the rest of the household out of their offending environment.

Are you living in an environment which is less than encouraging for personal development?

Is there anything wrong in striving to disassociate oneself from those who wish to hinder one's social or financial development?

Should people be careful when choosing their close friends? Should they exercise valid discrimination?

List some invalid reasons people sometimes discriminate against other people.

Can you list some valid reasons for discrimination?

How important for your social development is a proper education?

What do you think might be stopping other members of Lloyd's old gang from improving their own situation?

How much does one's attitude to work, dictate where one remains in our social structure?

When William's wife died, he was devastated. Apart from losing his wife he now faced the prospect of raising their two-year-old daughter alone. His parents, seeing the need, helped out a lot. Any time William had to be away from home his mother would always make herself available to take care of her granddaughter. Birthdays or any other occasions special to the little girl would always be celebrated with grandma and grandpa.

Seven years after his wife died, William married Flora, an older woman with two boys of her own. They were good for each other and all five lived happily together. The fact that grandma and grandpa visited less often then was not taken in any negative way, but as a natural consequence of their son's new state as head of his new family. They were supposed to be given more space and time alone to settle into life with one another.

It took some years after that for William to realise there was another, unexpected reason for his parents' distance. In their hearts they would not accept Flora's biological children as their grandchildren and actually resented him for treating all three children equally. They went so far as to disinherit him for fear that his inheritance might eventually go to "outsiders" and left everything to their one granddaughter. This saddened William greatly, especially since Flora gave everything she had so generously to all of them without discrimination. William wondered, “why?”. "Was it because of his wife's ethnicity? What constitutes an insider and what an outsider?"

What constitutes an insider, and what, an outsider?

Should William's parents consider their son's stepchildren as their grandchildren?

Should William make any distinctions between his stepchildren and his daughter?

Should Flora consider William's daughter as her own?

If your parents adopt another child, would you consider that child to be your brother or sister?

Should your parents treat both of you the same way?

Although the grandparents did not accept their son's two stepchildren, does it mean that they were not these children's grandparents?

We are all in natural relationships of one kind or another. We are brothers or sisters of someone, a daughter, a son, a nephew, or niece, etc. Does the truth of these relationships depend on our acceptance of them?

How should we treat people who are not genetically linked, or linked by marriage to us?

Is there a broader relationship existing between all people, even between complete strangers?

Is there a truth or reality which binds us all together?

Do you think people's perception of a greater brotherhood among all mankind is not as strong as it should be?

Activity: Based on the story of the five sisters, write and perform a monologue the third sister may have said to herself in her heart. Or write and perform a short skit of a conversation between William's daughter and his mother.