That's not to say that it's not a good concept though. Equality sounds good to me when you roll it off the tongue. I can't speak for you but as a man that has went from fending the bailiffs off every week to living in relative luxury in the space of two years, I often find the need to help my friends up, and want to see other people achieve the same prosperity I have seen in recent years. The idea of Equality has always been a fond go to of mine, that every person is born equal, and has the same opportunity to achieve greatness.
It is a notion that I have subscribed to for many years, even when working with people that needed care and support -- that we can work together to find some level where they burst past their barriers and achieve their own form of greatness (however that may look like), some people just want to be able to get up in the morning, and that's ok, you know? Life isn't the same for everyone.
But as I've grown older, more responsible and more aware of my surroundings I'm becoming increasingly aware of how unequal life actually is, and how impossible it would be to apply the idea of Equality across the western hemisphere. The idea in itself is a little childish. And granted, I've done a lot of growing up over the last ten years. I have my son to thank for that.
When we think of equality we seem to apply it to social, jobs and money. For reference these in my terms are things you have direct control of. You can choose who you hang with, what job you stay in and for how long, and also the money you make. Okay, perhaps you don't have complete control over these, for example you can get fired which is outwith your control and would have a direct impact on the other two.
We rarely mention or at least understand the interpersonal underpinnings of the latter. I know this because if we understood this then we wouldn't be talking about Equality at all. Think of it this way, if you had a bad breakup with your partner then it would affect performance at work and also perhaps threaten your financial status. That being said having equality would completely solve this. This I understand. But then what would that do for the other employees and the team dynamics? If there's at best a smidgen of threat then people will stick to the rules. If there are none then the workforce gets lazy. Perhaps not all, but then you'll find several will carry the weight and get extremely annoyed at the rest -- I have seen this play out first hand.
Then there is the psychological and emotional. How can you achieve equality when a trauma survivor is in a completely different mental zone to someone that has had a leg up all of their life. You might find the trauma survivor wants to do everything on their own, and the person that's had a leg up all of their lives expect things to be done for them. Of course you can bring them together as much as you can in a team by sharing with the survivor and teaching the person with a leg up to be more independent -- but the end result will always be a mix of wildly different experiences. You may also find that they will never agree on much. Perhaps even resent each other's experiences.
Then there's the physical and perhaps one of the biggest barriers to equality we can see. We don't talk about it much but do you think people treat tall and attractive men better than they do short and horrible looking men? One may say that the tall and attractive man lives life on easy mode when it comes to general acceptance - I know this through general experience being tall and attractive in my youth. Whereas my friends not having the same experiences as me.
And the same for women. Do you think a physically fit and beautiful young woman is going to have the same opportunity as someone that looks like they are chewing on a wasp? Granted, personality is a big factor as it is with men, but even then there will be doors open to the attractive people instantly that other people will have to work really hard at.
And even with all these different physical, psychological, and emotional attributes from each and every person we still insist that we can be equal.
Egalitarians, I feel, don't understand people. Or, they don't understand crowds of people. I often ponder the rationale it would take to equalise everyone across the board and it would take some doing -- literally. The effort and resources it would take to do so would be phenomenal. Equalising yourself with others is great, but then you have zero control over others and there will always be someone trying to outdo you or best you. It is human nature.
Of course American Intersectional Feminists have seen this problem and have sought to deal with it (I think), understanding that humanity isn't equal and we have to jam some sort of golfing handicap into people who they deem aren't as privileged as others. This is where I think the term White Privilege stems from. That in America, institutions are structurally biased towards white people, and that white people need to know their, "unfair golfing handicap" to better understand the world around them. Of course it's not just straight white Christian men, there is a sliding scale, or spectrum of privilege that is applied.
I mean I understand the good intentions that underpins the movement, and perhaps without bad actors there may actually be some good discussion around this, but like everything in the humanities these days the idea is passed around like candy sweets and then everyone who is taught this suddenly thinks they a practised psychoanalyst giving out labels left, right, and centre to people that they don't agree with.
Mental Health on the internet is tantamount to snake oil. It is exactly the same with this intersectional Feminism. People would rather label others than seek the answers from within -- and thus we now have an international shitstorm on our hands. But that is a topic for another day.
Personally? I still believe in a fair society, if not an equal one. I would rather see people that needed help in areas they weren't good at and help them with it. This is what a relationship with a man and a woman should be like. We are both emotional and physical crutches for the other. We support each other in places where we need it best. Rather than this... whatever it is that you call it now. It's certainly not equality anyway.
If you really believed in equality. Like really did -- then let me ask you this simple question:
What have you done this week to help someone out in an area that you have got covered whereas they lack?
Once you can answer that without lying to yourself then you're on the right track!! :)
But as for equality? It's a crappy concept that can't be applied.
