"The greatest danger is not the thing itself, but the fear of the thing. The fear of change, the fear of the unknown [the fear of diversity] is what holds people back." - Paulo Coelho.
I've always been one to be curious and read about most things people would normally fear; death, dangerous animals, some rather interesting looking weapons, etc. It isn't a straight up obsession, but just a passing glance, smile and mental note to read up on it later. This isn't really something that I've been open about because.. well, it makes for terrible conversation topics😂
One of my latest reads though has been about discrimination and the cause of it.
What brought this topic to my head was a conversation I had with one of my female friends about her marriage choices and how she straight of ruled out a specific tribe from the list.
Just idle chatter of course as I and she are nowhere near the age of marriage, yet the way the popular tribe was quickly dismissed was quite shocking to me 😂😂.
I laughed about it and asked why she ruled them out and her only reply was.
"Because its a (_____) man"😂😂
Immediately I felt a pang of pity for any unfortunate guy from that tribe who may have fallen and tried to woo her without knowing that his actions may be fruitless 😂
She's quite an eye catcher.
That's just a small, rather complex example of diversity discrimination yet there are more baser and harsher instances that I've heard, read and seen happen.
The concept of diversity tolerance is the ability to accept, relate and flow with someone from a different tribe, religion, appearance, perspective or lifestyle. And to be honest, this isn't quite an easy thing to do.
Accepting these differences is the first bit. Accepting it means admitting to yourself that its different and it's alright (and in most cases, your previous way of thinking was wrong or flawed), yet that in itself is a huge mountain to climb.
I've been avoiding honey all my life due to where and what I learned while I grew up and you're here trying to tell me that it's sweet and not at all poisonous.
Well, my mind wouldn't be easily swayed.
Even if you eat it in my front, I can easily say you're different from me.
The fear of the unknown is the main driving force to diversity discrimination.
Ignorance about a tribes religion and or lifestyle can cause misunderstandings and arguments.
I've seen this happen a whole lot of times and it's a bit funny to watch a spectator but sad, confusing and frustrating to be involved in it.
There's also the aspect of being introduced first to a wrong or faulty explanation of a concept and perspective, at such making someone to have the wrong idea about it.
This is the most case about religions and crypto
The Muslim Jihadists have made quite a few people hate Muslims. They don't have or know enough about the religion or all other Muslims but as 1% is in terrorism due to religion, in their eyes all Muslims are terrorists.
I have some Muslim friends, and the only terror I've seen from one is when I collected her meat in Salah... 😂😂
Fun times...
In the crypto world, we see this kind of instance regularly, people hating the idea of crypto due to numerous scams and phishing instances. They assumed that the only real money is the physical one they can touch.
Its sad that there are numerous instances of diversity in our society yet not so many people can be tolerant and embrace it.
Before it was easy to ignore, but now it's becoming increasingly clear that change is essential, diversity is needed, and the fear of the unknown wouldn't keep the unknown for long.
Diversity can be a bad thing, but it is more often than not a good thing in the society.
It's not only salt that makes a good pot of stew nor is it only one color that makes the rainbow, yet they are both equally beautiful and enjoyable.
Abi na so dem dey talk am😂😂
This is my entry into Day 3 of the #julyinleo monthly prompt posted by @leogrowth
If you're out of ideas and in need of some... This is a good place to start.
Click on the images to go to the sources
My Instagram page.