Discrimination: The Odd Career of a Word
Bob Weir
Discrimination and segregation are on the rise again. People are being turned away at restaurants, bars, and other public facilities. In many cases they are forced to stand outside buildings in the cold air while their more privileged counterparts are comfortable within. Often, after having been seated in a public establishment, they have been asked to leave when their presence caused complaints to the management. These modern day pariahs don’t look any different from the rest of the population; they don’t have any physical abnormalities that might cause consternation and alarm; they don’t evince any psychopathic personality traits; nor do they display any criminal tendencies. They come from every strata of society, from the poorest to the richest, from the least educated to the most scholarly. Yet, for a country that prides itself on its fierce advocacy of civil rights and human dignity, it seems we always find someone to discriminate against.
In the nineteenth century we fought a civil war because some people felt they simply couldn’t deal with the notion that blacks should be freed from the chains of slavery. In the twentieth century dozens more lost their lives in the continuing struggle against those who couldn’t fathom the idea of black children attending schools with white children. Meanwhile, across the ocean, some nut case sporting a square mustache didn’t think Jews should be allowed to live because they were….well, Jewish. Now that we’re in the twenty-first century, we can look back at all the years of protests, wars, civil unrest and, ultimately, legislation that kept the bigots and the bullies from having their way.
However, the laws of physics tell us that for every action there is a corresponding reaction. A compensatory mechanism, if you will. Perhaps there is something in the human condition that has a gnawing, nagging, almost violent compulsion to discriminate against something or someone.
But in order to pull it off in this highly sophisticated, enlightened era we must become very creative in the selection process. First we must decide what the pro and con numbers tell us; one must have the requisite majority before one can begin the bullying process. We must also be certain that our actions are not politically incorrect. But mostly, we must pick on those who are generally docile and not part of any organized group that is likely to fight back. Then, we can begin carefully selecting scientific studies that favor our position while eschewing any reference to opposing data. Once we have enough propaganda to sell to the masses, we can begin again to satisfy that deep-seated craving for the humble blood of inferior people. As we get stronger and more dominant, we can impose ever-greater indignities on those beneath us. In so doing, we can enjoy that all consuming, albeit pitiful, hunger for self-importance. Alas, such is the nature of prejudice.
Yes, I’m talking about the most denigrated, abused, criticized and demoralized group in contemporary America: Smokers. They can be been seen on cold, windy days, standing outside a building, furtively exercising their right to puff—never in the warm confines of the interior, where the puffless majority reigns supreme. Not long ago they could be seen in the designated section of restaurants where the super-sensitive olfactory organs of other patrons would not be viciously assailed by an occasional waft of their tobacco’s billowy evanescence. That dictatorial arrangement was arrived at after a new phrase was added to the elitist lexicon: Secondhand smoke. Repudiating data to the contrary, these solipsistic zealots wielded the biased studies like a Sword of Damocles over the heads of anyone who disagreed with their selective judgment.
Consequently, smokers’ rights were relegated to a modern version of being seated in the back of the bus. Ah, but even that was only a temporary right, subject to the whims of power hungry ideologues who weren’t satisfied with the subtle segregation of a submissive segment of society. Power is an insatiable instinct that must be constantly fed. As a result, smokers are now being pushed out of restaurants entirely and forced to endure and accept the increasingly ignominious assault on their freedom from a callous fraternity whose only goal is utter annihilation of the infidels.
Sadly, the history of our country tells us that you only get what you are willing to fight for. Many people mistake niceness for weakness, but every person and every group has a limit to their patience. As a non-smoker, it would be easy for me to join the chorus of intolerance and beat up on the hitherto defenseless minority. But I never had any respect for bullies. Furthermore, some of my best friends are smokers.
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