Monday, July 07, 2008

Quick Thought On Being a Minority

I’ve long thought that the terms “minority” and “majority” are useless without context.  First, it depends on what one is talking about.  I am a white person.  In that regard, I am in the Majority in West Bend.  I am also a Lutheran male.  In that regard, I am in the minority in West Bend.  If you add up the women and men of other religions, I am far outnumbered.  One can only really use the terms “minority” and “majority” if one specifies to what the term is being applied.

Second, the scope of the characterization must also be specified - whether geographically or otherwise.  As a white person, I am in the majority in Wisconsin, but a minority in the world.  When I lived in Riyadh, I was part of a tiny minority.  As a voter, I am in the minority almost all of the time except most Presidential elections, when I join the majority. 

“Minority” and “majority” are relative terms that one should view dubiously if they are thrown out without the relevant context.

(2) Comments
Posted by Owen at 2156 hrs
Off-Duty

  1. Wow, you’re two for two this morning.

    I would never have guessed you were such a moral relativist, Owen.  My god, introducing the idea of context?  How can you vote at all?  A Lutheran relativist?  I assumed you *must* be in the Missouri or Wisconsin Synods.  Very little relativism in that crowd.  Me, I’m ELCA.  We swim in that stuff.  :^)

    Life complicated and requires lots of context to understand it, but reducing the idea of “minority” to absurdity by playing Cats Cradle with the language doesn’t get you off the hook for the reality of things.

    Here: do you want us to say this?

    “Oh, awwww, poor Owen.  He belongs to a minority that controls the greatest financial, political, and military power in the history of Planet Earth.”

    Yeah, it totally sucks to be you dude.  14 year old black kids in Watts have no idea how rotten and tough your life is.  Oh, and to be in the Lutheran male minority in West Bend!  It’s just like being a Jew in 1934.  I totally feel your pain.

    lol. —but maybe there was something in the context of your running a neo-con sympathizer blog that I missed? 


    [massive smileys throughout… hey, did you guys go to China this summer or not?  I thought Wendy said she wanted to go.]

    hiho
    Mp

    Posted by Mpeterson on July 08, 2008 at 1048 hrs


  2. I do want to go to China, we just didn’t make it this year.  We went to the Caribbean instead.  We couldn’t swing enough time off to make the trip to China and see just 1/millionth of what we would want to see there.

    If we do ever go, however, I hope we can count on you for some tips of where we should go.

    Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on July 08, 2008 at 2140 hrs


Commenting is not available in this channel entry.