Throughout history, various groups have been discriminated against to the degree where they have been killed, harassed, their rights denied etc. to where there almost isn't such thing as equality anymore. Equality is where everything is fair, everyone has equal rights, and no one is discriminated against because they are different.
Women, and gays, and blacks have been the groups primarily discriminated against in the past, present and will be in the future. Various acts taking a stand against this intolerance have occurred but has it been enough?
This chart shows that regardless of the parents income, blacks will end up being in the bottom fifth to the middle fifth of the country in the amount of income they make. Barely any blacks are in the top 20% of income in society, and barely white kids end up poor. This might not show how blacks have been discriminated against in the past, but it shows how blacks have been and will continue to be at a disadvantage in life. In the past, blacks have been discriminated against, whether going into public places or having to sit in the back of the bus, they have been discriminated against. This has led to them not being taken as seriously as white people are, because they received less opportunities in the past and less opportunities to prove themselves as capable workers. Why is Obama our first black president ever? Why was it such a big deal when he became president in the first place? It marked a change in society that we have progressed and are more readily accepting people for their talent rather than their skin tone.
Although it seems second nature to us now that women are equal to men, well into the twentieth century, women were significantly discriminated against. Women were denied jobs because according to men they were supposed to do work around the house, and they were confined to motherly professions like nursing and education rather than jobs in government. It took them to the turn of the 19th century for women to find their voice and fight for their natural rights. Even when these rights were obtained by law in the 1920s, they were still withheld by many peers and by males. In today's culture we have significantly progressed. Seen by the chart of the rate of Labor Participation by sex, women's role in the labor race has increased greatly over time, however, the fight for their rights is never truly over as discrimination can be found in the most traditional of towns and places.
Gays are the third group that has been discriminated against over time. In the holocaust, gays were considered as "bad" to be as Jews were, and were murdered just as harshly because they liked the same sex. When did love get a label on it? I don't think it ever did, and people who decide who should love who, shouldn't be loved. In today's day and age, people who are gay (who has had a sexual relationship with another guy) aren't allowed to give blood at a blood drive. The Don't Ask Don't Tell policy put into affect a little while ago, prohibited gays who were "out" from serving in the army/military/etc. for our country; if a gay person didn't publicly announce that he was gay, he is allowed to serve for the country. Like all the other groups people in the past have discriminated against, over time, gays have become more accepted. The chart shows that over time, the percent that has considered homosexuals acceptable has increased from 34% in 1982 to 54% in 2006, that may not be a huge increase, but it is a start and overtime will continue to get better.
Discrimination is a serious deal. It is unfair, and people should be treated to have their own rights and have none of them be denied. Yes, throughout history all of this discrimination has lessened, and yes, this discrimination will never fully go away, but the more tolerance we give to these groups of people, the more peace our world will have in the end.
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