Discrimination is Not Exclusive: A Look at the Core Issue at the Heart of All Conflict in the World

Discrimination is not exclusive.

Sounds almost redundant, doesn't it?

But it's the truth - and I speak from experience.

As an Italian-American, I have been discriminated against by some non-Italian-Americans, and even a few "100%" Italians; but not ALL-non-Italians, and not all "100%"-Italians, but a few non-Italian-Americans, and a few "100%" Italians.

As a straight man, I have been discriminated against by some in the gay community, but not the entire gay community; just some members of the gay community.

As a single straight man, I have been discriminated against by married couples or love couples (of any gender, sexual persuasion, or identity); not ALL such individuals and couples, but some.

As a Catholic Christian, I have felt the discrimination of some non-Catholic-Christians, and a few from other sectors of Christianity, but not all Catholic-Christians, and not all of those from other Christian beliefs; just some from each of those categories.

As a man who makes less than $100,000 a year, I have felt the discrimination of those who make more than $100,000 a year - and assuredly, lots more, but not from ALL who make more than $100,000 a year (or assuredly more); just some.

As a man with a sense of humor, I have been discriminated against by those without a sense of humor, and even some with a sense of humor.

As a man with an A-type personality, I have been discriminated against by some of those with a "B," "C," "D," "E" and especially an "F" personality (e.g. "no personality at all"). Again, not all such individuals, but some.

As a man under 6 feet tall, I have been discriminated against by some of those who are over 6 feet tall, not everyone who's over 6 feet tall, but SOME who just so happened to be over 6 feet tall.

You see where I'm going with this?

It comes down to stereotyping, really, which places another measure of irony into the fold.

Just because one particular member of a group discriminates against me for whatever their ill-begotten reason may be, that doesn't mean that EVERY member of that group discriminates against me.

Sadly, I have found that is it not so much the culture, religion, or heritage that proves to be the discriminating factor for the discriminator, nor is it the color of anyone's skin that sometimes provokes the discrimination; but rather the green color of money, or the lack of it, that comes into play.

Many times, for the very rich, with money coming out of their ears, some of those from that group, and again, not all, but some of those from that group by-pass their bigotry of others just because of the wealth of those others.

Unfortunately, like every other problem or conflict in this world, it more often than not, comes down to money; money, and power.

Those are the real issues at hand in discrimination: it's all about the "class" structure, and who controls which class structure, which in the end, ultimately shows no class at all.