discrimination

[scprest@umslvma.umsl.edu (Tom Preston)]

In the discussion of discrimination, one must realize that there are two
almost opposite meanings of the word. This in and of itself would make a
debate topic on civil rights quite interesting.

In a debate round, for example, a judge tries to use impartial standards to
discriminate between the team that did the better debating and the team
that did the worse in assigning a win and a loss.  The critic who refuses
to discriminate in this manner is a critic who will not last long in this
profession!  The judges with the best ability to discriminate fairly and in
the closest of rounds, of course, are the judges that are rarely stricken
as well as those given the judging awards at tournaments such as Towson
State.  Liking members of ones family IS discrimination--but a
discrimination of this, desirable sort, generally based on years of
practical experience with a group of people and nurturing by them. And on
those few occasions I like to go out for a nice meal, I am very
discriminating in what I choose for a meal, as I hope the chef has been in
choosing its ingredients!

It is the discrimination that is based on partial, illogical
standards--such as prejudice--that should deeply concern scholars and
practitioners of argumentation and advocacy.  Prejudice is judging
something or somebody before one understands that thing or
person--Discrimination of the undesirable sort is acting upon this
prejudice-the "isms" --  racism, sexism, ablism, agism, nepotism (liking
ones family is desirable, but favoring them in certain employment decisions
is not), and homophobia (okay, I slipped a phobia in there)-- represent
patterns of discrimination exerted by those with more power over those with
less power within a certain society.

As well, discrimination which is undesirable can be based on stereotypes,
that, while they may hold SOME truth with some individuals in some
situations, are in all reality hasty, often negative, generalizations about
an entire culture.  This, too, can lead to discrimination--eg, somebody
believes, "a persons of ethnic group b are humorous," and then makes the
non sequitur "you need to use more logic than humor" to a debater from
ethnic group b. I as well as others in our program and others can give
concrete examples to support that this is a problem on which the Community
needs to continue to work, and with more than back room "sanctioned"
discussions on race which serve more to pacify rather than enlighten.

Prejudice and stereotyping are among those things we should fight, both
internally and externally, getting more at the roots of undesirable
discrimination as well as the undesirable discrimination, isms, and phobias
themselves.

Tom

"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself"

--FDR

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