In documents and/or discussions about the equality of persons, many descriptive phrases are employed to focus on what it’s about. We hear of equality rights, equal opportunity, civil rights, non-discrimination, and policies to address harassment and bullying, to name a few. The dimensions identified to assess equality include most commonly sex, race, and creed, but also national or ethnic origin, colour, religion, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, political belief, marital status, military status, economy, etc. I am sure that this is not an exhaustive list, as there are so many dimensions to the human identity, which gives everybody on the planet a sense of uniqueness and community.
We also hear of specific terms applied to those who do not appear to respect equality, such as “racist,” “sexist,” “ageist,” or “homophobic,” to identify a few. “Creedist” and “religiophobe” are among other terms that may come into further vogue and evolution of definition as we continue to seek out what human rights entails.
So how does the constructive mindset factor into the discussion about human equality rights? It appears clear that each of the categories listed as issues to protect equality are ways to show that people are not “potatoes.” That is, people are not problems, regardless of race, colour, creed, etc. It means that declarations or documents about equality rights are ways to communicate constructive thinking and attitudes. The constructive reminder of equality rights is important to declare because we humans are at risk to form the destructive mindset, which is a mindset that targets people as problems. We humans also find ways to rationalize the reasons why people are problems, including those very dimensions of race, colour, creed, in order to do so. We must therefore be thankful that standards of equality rights exist, which help us to find the constructive balance when we are prone to our destructive tendencies.
The constructive mindset also addresses the unfortunate example of how we can form the destructive mindset when labelling people whose attitude is not in keeping with the spirit of equality rights. On one hand, the label of “racist,” identifies destructive thinking on the part of the person whose attitude is to identify a person as a potato on the basis of race. However, on the other hand, labelling the person as “racist” can imply that the individual who displays a racist attitude is a potato, or a problem, which is a destructive attitude in rebuttal. Could we call this “labellism,” or a “labellist” attitude? We must find a way to treat everyone constructively, respecting the person but also addressing the potatoes (situations of injustice).
Perhaps a constructive way to identify a racist attitude is to persevere in making reference to issues such as “racism.” With the constructive mindset, we can identify the problematic attitude, respect all parties involved, believe that change is possible, and persevere toward effective change. We must be aware to free ourselves of being guilty of intolerance to intolerance, showing us to be as intolerant as those we loathe as intolerant. Rather, let us find a way to be respectful of all persons while being intolerant of intolerant attitudes, or injustice.