LukkyKnight
Equal Opportunity Enjoyer
- Joined
- Oct 26, 2001
- Posts
- 58,516
Two, I say, at the most fundamental level. No, not gender to distinguish this time, this is about mind-set, personality, about YOUR view of the world. There are two kinds: the people who divide every group into two kinds of people, and the ones that don't.
Exclusive or inclusive - which are you?
The exclusive people know that they are not, and cannot - will not - ever be the same as other people. They see cliques everywhere they look, they see good and evil, they see issues in black and white, clear-cut differences which should be obvious to anybody.
The inclusive people wait hopefully for the exclusive people to learn we are all the same, to outgrow their isolationist we-they perspective, to leave behind the intolerance and disrespect for others which is the hallmark of that approach to life.
The exclusive people laugh at this notion, pointing to statements by the "allegedly" inclusive people which they see as divisive, as supportive of their comfortably limited point of view. They use terms like "idealist" to convey derision. They laugh and feel superior, and assume that the allegedly inclusive ones are just like them other than making "nice" faces and putting "nice" spins on things.
The inclusive people do not laugh at people, they laugh with them. They see themselves in others, from the toddler puzzling out how to walk, to the comic making cracks about differences in culture, or gender, and they laugh along cheerfully, connecting with their memories... for them a laugh is not a means to say "I'm better than this poor slob." For inclusive people, laughter is a smile you can hear - genuine and friendly - a supportive acknowledgement that says, "Ah yes, mistakes... been there, done that, glad I'm not alone."
Exclusive or inclusive - which are you?
The exclusive people know that they are not, and cannot - will not - ever be the same as other people. They see cliques everywhere they look, they see good and evil, they see issues in black and white, clear-cut differences which should be obvious to anybody.
The inclusive people wait hopefully for the exclusive people to learn we are all the same, to outgrow their isolationist we-they perspective, to leave behind the intolerance and disrespect for others which is the hallmark of that approach to life.
The exclusive people laugh at this notion, pointing to statements by the "allegedly" inclusive people which they see as divisive, as supportive of their comfortably limited point of view. They use terms like "idealist" to convey derision. They laugh and feel superior, and assume that the allegedly inclusive ones are just like them other than making "nice" faces and putting "nice" spins on things.
The inclusive people do not laugh at people, they laugh with them. They see themselves in others, from the toddler puzzling out how to walk, to the comic making cracks about differences in culture, or gender, and they laugh along cheerfully, connecting with their memories... for them a laugh is not a means to say "I'm better than this poor slob." For inclusive people, laughter is a smile you can hear - genuine and friendly - a supportive acknowledgement that says, "Ah yes, mistakes... been there, done that, glad I'm not alone."
