Some of the angriest and most aggressive prejudice
we see today comes from those who believe that their own group –
men, white people, non-disabled people, the economically well-off,
straight people, cisgender people, and so on – are under threat,
and are now being disadvantaged in the name of political correctness.
They see civil rights as an attack on white people, feminism as an
attack on men, pride as an attack on those who are cishet. Generally
speaking, they are wrong.
It is helpful to understand where they are coming
from, though. Not to excuse it or justify it, but simply to
understand it. Understanding is the starting point for all
constructive action in such cases.
It is easy for a person who is not oppressed in a
certain way not to realise what it is like to be oppressed, to assume
that their experience is the default, baseline, way everyone
experiences things. When that experience then changes for the worse,
when they lose advantages, or others are given them, it seems unfair,
it seems that they are being attacked.
Do not focus your rejection of prejudice on these
people, though do what you can to help them understand, or at least
counteract their impact – and always reject their prejudice. The
real villains in this scenario are those who fan the resentment of
those experiencing a loss of privilege, usually for their own
personal gain or political ends.
Written August 2017
