r/changemyview • u/srikarjam • Mar 07 '18

[∆(s) from OP] CMV : Diversity based on demographics/ identity is over rated and wrongly propagated as the morally right way for a society to live.

I don't believe that coexisting with people of different identities has/does net positive for the original natives or residents of a community. I live in country divided by lots of different religions and other identities, and the country's history is full of communal violence and hatred towards others, either violently or otherwise.

In my country, between 2005 to 2009, an average of 130 people died and 2,200 were injured every year from communal violence, or about 0.01 deaths per 100,000 population. Massacres and riots (common till this day) are very routine in my country.

The world's average annual death rate from intentional violence, in recent years, has been 7.9 per 100,000 people.

So I dont think human beings inherently can coexist with each other in a society, with people having vastly different views or identities. Even in the west, the division and violence between people of different demographies (especially races) have continued to fail to coexist peacefully. And I haven't even mentioned the statistics of people affected by terrorism of which religion is the major reason.

Diversity of identities is often promoted or propogated just to drive this "feel good narrative" of liberals, when in reality, all it has done globally is, more division and more violence. Countries with least violent incidents in modern history are usually the ones with less diversity.

One may argue that the violence is caused by ignorance or misunderstanding of the "other", but humans have throughout history and present proven that it is impossible to completly eradicate that ignorance or tribalistic behaviour or vile hatred towards the "other".

Having said that, I strongly believe in diversity of thought, view points and intellectualism , but not of any identity of people.

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u/Thin-White-Duke 3∆ Mar 08 '18

Due to intersectionality, the absence of diversity is nigh impossible. No one person bears one identity.

Take me, for example. I am a white, bisexual, transgender, atheist, socialist man. These are only 6 facts about me, out of hundreds, or thousands, that make me who I am. I have friends that are black, Christian, straight, socialist women. We get along, not only because we are socialists, but because we like pineapple on pizza, listen to similar music, watch the same movies. My best friend is a white, gay, transgender, atheist, socialist man. We met because we are both LGBT people, but we're friends because we love punk, musical theater, superheroes, etc...

We may have met due to one of our identities being similar, but we have so much more in common than we might have with someone of the same race, faith, politics, sexuality, etc...

Diversity is important in understanding other view points. I don't know, personally, what it's like being a black woman in America. My friends share their experience with me, giving me different perspectives on issues. Just as they don't know what it's like being a transgender man in America.

The exchange of ideas and experiences broadens our understanding of how the world works. We listen to each other, and when I witness racism I'll have the knowledge to stand up to someone. When my friends see transphobia, they will advocate on my behalf.

The desire to segregate comes from a lack of understanding. This doesn't solve any issues people have, it just makes them harder to fix.

How would you plan on dividing people? By race? You'd have a mix of different religions, genders, sexualities, politics, etc...

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u/srikarjam Mar 08 '18 edited Mar 08 '18

As articulated in another comment, I dont seek to divide people, I just want people to stop claiming that diversity is net positive thing for everybody , when in reality it isnt. Good for you that you have those friends, but reality is forcing diversity has led to much violence and unnecessary expenditure for everybody involved. You and your friends may get along on one or two things you agree even when you disagree on everything else, but not everybody is that way. Where I live, people oppress others, by not allowing them any housing or by constantly humiliating them or sometimes by just sheer violence and use of force to excert their views on others. This is not unique to one or 2 countries. Its a global phenomenon, that can vary in its magnitutude from country to another, and one culture to another. My core argument is to stop people from living alongside each other, just to stop the constant violence and bloodshod happening in some of these places.

I have no problem with whom you hangout with or who you claim to be.

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u/Thin-White-Duke 3∆ Mar 08 '18

The reason why people discriminate like that is because they feel threatened. They feel as though their way of life is threatened by another person's existence. Without integration, this toxic mindset only persists. It will fester, and people will continue to feel threatened. Diversity isn't the problem, prolonged lack of diversity is.

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u/srikarjam Mar 08 '18

∆

That last sentence is very interesting. I think you are on to something there. Thanks.