Discrimination Beclouded By Covid-19: Recipe For Chronic Stress.

Discrimination simply put, is the unfair or prejudicial treatment of persons and/or groups of people based on some characteristics seen, made to look like or perceived as different from others such as in ageism, racism, class, gender, sexuality, sexual orientation, disability, etc.

The human brain is wired in such a way that naturally categorises things to make sense of them. For instance, the differences between man, woman; people of different shades of colours categorised as black, brown and white; as seasons with changes of weather; union as opposite or same sex marriage; living divided into youth, adulthood and old age, etc. Such categorisations are fine, innocent and helpful in the learning process except when value ladened and cloaked, based on fears, distortions, biases, narcissism, misunderstanding, and other superficial ordering to devalue, distort, abuse, degrade, denigrate, such persons or groups. The processing and/or entrenchment of such categorisations is learnt and passed on, passed down through orientations, in cunningly crafted policies, theorisation, parentage, peer groups, etc. 

Discriminations has reinvented over the years, has become dynamic, systemic, structured in such manners in which racism, sexism, ageism, are cloaked to be like the norm; covered in coats of inequalities, privileges, deprivations, allowances, refusal, conferment, etc such that specific acts and policies create and award burdens and benefits, disempowerment and empowerment, so entrenched that the former; disenfranchised would never be able to fully enjoy basic to fundamental human rights or other legally prescribed rights on an equal basis.

Discrimination, long before now was blatant and overt. But because of the onslaught by well-meaning individuals and organisations, it has gone mostly covert. Only those who have suffered such biases would recognise them immediately, no matter how disguised. Often, others hardly would know because they are subtle. Take such systemic ageism bias; like the myths that disrespects age by apparently or symbolically suggesting by actions-jokes, assignments, delegations, positioning-that turning 60 or 65 to 70 means going downhill from that age to death. Equating age with drain rather that baptism by years of experience: Or, the continued female gender ceilings, short-changing by laws that were supposed to protect them against violations, abuses, obnoxious traditions, etc: Or, racism, a cultural myth that divides humanness, rewards, give undue privilege to or deprive others along the lines of races; such deep rooted divide presently causing protests in the West. All such partiality and prejudices are and would remain morally wrong because they accord differential treatments on unethical, dishonest, unjust, irrelevant grounds. Allowing undue advantages on the basis of falsehood, pride, vanglory, vanity, depraved beliefs or principles, etc. 

Although a number of governments, NGOs and agitators have devoted considerable time and resources in addressing and redressing the effect of these multiple forms of discriminations, much work remain to be done, especially at the level of recognition, perception and realisation of the subtle and cancerous forms of discrimination left untouched. Truth is, the many initiatives, policies and strategies aimed at eliminating, in particular, racial or gender discrimination actually serve only to reinforce the multiple layers of the other subtle ones.

Covid-19 only has ignited and beamed search light on the deep multiple layers that were before now invisible; how people are treated unfairly across different realms of life that make them feel anxious, conflicted, distraught, harassed, shut-down or killing each other-stages they arrived at through systemic and structured deprivation, degradation, deception, pollution, subjection, division and subjugation. Such less obvious examples of day-to-day discrimination include being deprived of all benefits to support and come off dependency, receiving poorer services in all works of life, deprived opportunities at work place or schools, treated with less civility, kindness, courtesy and respect or disrespected for lack of intelligence, capabilities, ability, etc. Or, biases as snubs, slights and misguided comments that suggesting a person is less worthy, all of which, though subtle are and can be just as devastating, harmful to self as over all well-being and causing doubts, constant watchfulness, insecurity, fears, cowardliness, shyness, sadness, and, heightened distrust.

LAST WORDS:

Despite all the progress in the fight against racism, ageism, sexuality, religious discrimination, xenophobia and all other societal related intolerance through international laws, government and personal interventions, as well as the foundation of numerous international human rights mechanisms and organizations, the road to ending discrimination is frost with multiple deceptive fronts, cloaked with layers of structural and systemic cover ups. The only onslaught to impede, halt and ending it is by continuous and sustained chipping at the coating and it’s tiers through dialogue, educations, reorientation, tough unequivocal law that punish perpetrators and reward victims, ensuring protection for victims and the vulnerable, making possible level playing ground to those at risk and vulnerable on multiple fronts due to racism, disenfranchisement, disability, and xenophobia.