Anti-“discrimination” laws, taken too far, go against human nature and will only result in unintended consequences — like driving underground all the “discriminatory” behaviour these were designed to eradicate. The fact is, there are natural human predispositions at work around why “discrimination” exists.
(1) People are tribal.
This is the reason sport events are fun and emotional experiences — because we like rooting for teams we feel an affinity with, chanting and waving in sync with a mob, and being in solidarity with our “tribe”. Indeed the hysteria around, say, basketball matches between Ateneo and La Salle are brilliant displays of primal tribalism.
(2) Humans are visual creatures.
Again, tribes are often identified by their colours. Ateneo = blue, La Salle = green, to extend further the earlier example. It is also an established fact that people with pleasing appearances elicit more positive responses from people they are communicating with. Humans are also hardwired to be cautious with or recoil from unfamiliar sights.
(3) Discrimination is an ingrained psychological rule of thumb.
Humans have to manage limited resources in terms of time and brain space. Discrimination predisposes us to gravitate to the familiar and distance ourselves from the strange to save time and energy that is at risk of being invested in the wrong people. It’s an instinct we share with our cousin species across the animal kingdom.
No amount of legislation will change these deeply-invested characteristics of the human mind and psyche. To do so results in the legislative agendas of today all crafted with substandard and sloppy thinking.
Webmaster of Get Real Philippines