A conventional recommendation of diversity
By: Ali Ismail
0778-842 5262 (United Kingdom)
aliismail_uk@yahoo.co.uk
IS "DIVERSITY"REALLY A GOOD THING?
Multiculturalism delivers enormous benefits along with many risks
On Thursday I was checking my day’s e-mail when I came upon the following notification, ultimately from the European Commission:
“The European Commission has today launched the "For Diversity. Against Discrimination." EU Journalist Award 2006. With this award, the EU aims to honour those who contribute to a better public understanding of the benefits of diversity and the fight against discrimination. This year, for the first time, a special prize will be granted to young writers or journalists who write about the topic of promoting diversity and combating discrimination.The competition is open to journalists from all 25 EU Member States. They are invited to submit print or online articles on discrimination or diversity based on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability and sexual orientation. Articles raising awareness on the issue of diversity in employment are particularly welcome, as are articles on young people and the fight against discrimination. Media professionals and anti-discrimination experts will select 25 national award winners. A European jury will then chose (sic) the three winners of the EU award who will receive a grant for a research trip to an EU country of their choice. This is the third year that the European Commission is running the award scheme. In 2005, more than 500 articles were submitted from all 25 EU Member States. The winners of the 2005 Award will be officially announced on 15 May 2006 at an awards ceremony in Brussels.The competition is part of the EU "For Diversity. Against Discrimination." information campaign, which informs people about their rights under EU anti-discrimination legislation and promotes the positive benefits of diversity in the workplace. Applicants can submit articles of at least 3,800 characters that have been published in print or online media between 1 January and 31 December 2006. Entries are accepted in all 20 official EU languages.”
Well, that got me thinking. Clearly, the point and purpose of the exercise is to promote only one viewpoint, namely that diversity is a blessing which confers untold benefits upon those who dwell in multicultural and multiracial societies. Any submitted article that arrives at some other conclusion will evidently not be eligible for the prize.
My argument is that diversity confers benefits which are accompanied by possibly major societal problems which will persist as long as the diversity goes on, that is to say, until most or all of the components thereof have bred themselves into a homogeneous mass. I am not in line for the prize, then.
First of the benefits. I submit that they are both psychological and genetic.
Of the psychological I think it can be said that a problem is best solved when considered from several viewpoints rather than just one. The solution can then be chosen from the best “fit” or from a judiciously selected pot-pourri of approaches to the matter at hand.
For example, the decision about whether or not to get married and, if so, to whom can, in a racially and culturally diverse community, be made by gleaning from the combined wisdoms of Europe, Africa and Asia. If the decision is made to get hitched, then the partner can be chosen from any of the three continents. Michael Caine could not have married his Indian wife without the social latitude and choices of a multicultural society.
Approaches to situations can also benefit from diversity. When justifying the need to spend awesome amounts of taxpayers’ money on defence during the days of the Cold War when the Soviet Union seemed to be winning, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence fell back upon a West African proverb: “Talk quietly but carry a big stick.”
Being part of classes that are multiracial and multicultural can enrich academic subjects. Take Shakespeare’s plays. Any of the Bard’s offerings can be considered from not just European but also African and Asian cultural perspectives. A class discussion which draws upon Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” from English, East European, Sub-Saharan African, South Asian and Chinese pupils is bound to be very much more invigorating than one in which absolutely everyone is English, lower middle class and living within five miles of Carlisle.
Of the genetic, a great deal can be said. First of all, a diverse society provides the shelf stock from which inbreeding can be banished. Any island community which does not import fresh genes into its gene pool is doomed to have an inbred population as time goes by. Think of the Faeroe Islands in the North Sea. An inbred population is mentally and physically weak. The dynamism by which evolution throws out new forms is stunted and constricted, creativity is reduced and the immune systems of the unfortunate inbred ones are weak; diseases and injuries can wreak havoc among inbred peoples.
Furthermore, in both the plant and the animal kingdoms, hybrid vigour is achieved by cross-pollination and the equivalent for animals. It has to be borne in mind that hybrid vigour is a temporary benefit and that it dies down after a few generations unless it is repeated again and again over the centuries. Furthermore, some geneticists think that when two “superior” specimens from different breeds cross the relatively recent unstable evolutionary advances of both are cancelled out and more basic primitive generalised and stable characteristics emerge as dominant. Therefore, if a Japanese mathematical genius marries a Norwegian mathematical genius the offspring of the couple may well have inferior mathematical abilities to both parents.
Groups purporting to champion the interests of “racially aware white people”, daily and non-stop trumpet the argument against diversity energetically.
Whatever one may think personally of the above mentioned groups (I have suffered from such people in several workplaces) one owes truth the obligation of considering what they say as objectively as reasonably possible.
They argue that a racially and culturally diverse society is inherently weak. The various communities have different and conflicting loyalties and there is a tremendous challenge when everyone is required to pull together, as when disaster strikes. This has been demonstrated dramatically in the post-Hurricane Katrina episode in New Orleans after the levees broke, thereby flooding the city. The racial groups did not act together and fought furiously among themselves; they followed sectional interests and not general interests. When rescue helicopters arrived to take away some “priority” people they were stoned by others who felt that they had been marginalized by not being selected first instead. The (largely black) police force failed to rise to the occasion and, during the depths of the crisis, about 100 police officers handed in their badges.
Furthermore, a diverse society is a happy hunting ground for foreign adventurers who want to control and rule it. By using the method of unequal treatments of the various communities and families and individuals the ancient tried and tested methodology of “divide and rule” works again and again. Malaya, (as Malaysia was previously called), was ruled by third parties who gave different treatments to the Chinese and the Malays. The present prosperity of Malaysia is partly owing to the fact that the authorities there stamp furiously on anyone who attempts to favour Chinese over Malay or vice versa.
Furthermore, some viewpoints are difficult to assimilate. Consider the following news report:
“Allah may not be too happy with space exploration, according to theologians of the ****** desert religion of Islam. Malaysia, a majority-Muslim nation, is wrestling with the thorny question of how and in what direction its first astronaut will pray when he is launched into orbit in October of 2007. Two Muslim Malays are slated to take a ride on one of Russia's mighty Soyuz spaceships to the International Space Station, part of a deal the Kremlin offered in hopes of selling MiG fighter jets to the South East Asian state. According to Reuters, much effort has been put into "solving" the "problem." "Following Earth time and facing in the direction of Earth are the key elements...said Zainol Abidin Abdul Rashid, a professor at the Space Science Institute attached to the National University of Malaysia. Professor Zainol said he had written a computer programme with the help of his graduate students to calculate the correct prayer times and directions for astronauts, once their positions are keyed in. "It can be set up on a computer or even a personal digital assistant, and figuring out your location is as simple as connecting to the Internet," Professor Zainol told Reuters...But other perplexing questions remain - what about ablutions before prayers, and how does one kneel in zero gravity?" Luckily, lots of hot air is being expended to answer just such thorny questions.”
Even allowing for a great deal of tolerance and general latitude, it is extremely difficult for an average European to adjust to the thought ways of Professor Zainol. In this example the “take” on the problems posed by orbital near-space flight are so different from the thinking of Western minds that adjustment is nearly impossible, if not completely out of the question.
Therefore, I submit that diversity can work only when it is practised by selected people who can mix, merge and work together.
Multiculturalism delivers enormous benefits along with many risks
On Thursday I was checking my day’s e-mail when I came upon the following notification, ultimately from the European Commission:
“The European Commission has today launched the "For Diversity. Against Discrimination." EU Journalist Award 2006. With this award, the EU aims to honour those who contribute to a better public understanding of the benefits of diversity and the fight against discrimination. This year, for the first time, a special prize will be granted to young writers or journalists who write about the topic of promoting diversity and combating discrimination.The competition is open to journalists from all 25 EU Member States. They are invited to submit print or online articles on discrimination or diversity based on the grounds of racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, age, disability and sexual orientation. Articles raising awareness on the issue of diversity in employment are particularly welcome, as are articles on young people and the fight against discrimination. Media professionals and anti-discrimination experts will select 25 national award winners. A European jury will then chose (sic) the three winners of the EU award who will receive a grant for a research trip to an EU country of their choice. This is the third year that the European Commission is running the award scheme. In 2005, more than 500 articles were submitted from all 25 EU Member States. The winners of the 2005 Award will be officially announced on 15 May 2006 at an awards ceremony in Brussels.The competition is part of the EU "For Diversity. Against Discrimination." information campaign, which informs people about their rights under EU anti-discrimination legislation and promotes the positive benefits of diversity in the workplace. Applicants can submit articles of at least 3,800 characters that have been published in print or online media between 1 January and 31 December 2006. Entries are accepted in all 20 official EU languages.”
Well, that got me thinking. Clearly, the point and purpose of the exercise is to promote only one viewpoint, namely that diversity is a blessing which confers untold benefits upon those who dwell in multicultural and multiracial societies. Any submitted article that arrives at some other conclusion will evidently not be eligible for the prize.
My argument is that diversity confers benefits which are accompanied by possibly major societal problems which will persist as long as the diversity goes on, that is to say, until most or all of the components thereof have bred themselves into a homogeneous mass. I am not in line for the prize, then.
First of the benefits. I submit that they are both psychological and genetic.
Of the psychological I think it can be said that a problem is best solved when considered from several viewpoints rather than just one. The solution can then be chosen from the best “fit” or from a judiciously selected pot-pourri of approaches to the matter at hand.
For example, the decision about whether or not to get married and, if so, to whom can, in a racially and culturally diverse community, be made by gleaning from the combined wisdoms of Europe, Africa and Asia. If the decision is made to get hitched, then the partner can be chosen from any of the three continents. Michael Caine could not have married his Indian wife without the social latitude and choices of a multicultural society.
Approaches to situations can also benefit from diversity. When justifying the need to spend awesome amounts of taxpayers’ money on defence during the days of the Cold War when the Soviet Union seemed to be winning, the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defence fell back upon a West African proverb: “Talk quietly but carry a big stick.”
Being part of classes that are multiracial and multicultural can enrich academic subjects. Take Shakespeare’s plays. Any of the Bard’s offerings can be considered from not just European but also African and Asian cultural perspectives. A class discussion which draws upon Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” from English, East European, Sub-Saharan African, South Asian and Chinese pupils is bound to be very much more invigorating than one in which absolutely everyone is English, lower middle class and living within five miles of Carlisle.
Of the genetic, a great deal can be said. First of all, a diverse society provides the shelf stock from which inbreeding can be banished. Any island community which does not import fresh genes into its gene pool is doomed to have an inbred population as time goes by. Think of the Faeroe Islands in the North Sea. An inbred population is mentally and physically weak. The dynamism by which evolution throws out new forms is stunted and constricted, creativity is reduced and the immune systems of the unfortunate inbred ones are weak; diseases and injuries can wreak havoc among inbred peoples.
Furthermore, in both the plant and the animal kingdoms, hybrid vigour is achieved by cross-pollination and the equivalent for animals. It has to be borne in mind that hybrid vigour is a temporary benefit and that it dies down after a few generations unless it is repeated again and again over the centuries. Furthermore, some geneticists think that when two “superior” specimens from different breeds cross the relatively recent unstable evolutionary advances of both are cancelled out and more basic primitive generalised and stable characteristics emerge as dominant. Therefore, if a Japanese mathematical genius marries a Norwegian mathematical genius the offspring of the couple may well have inferior mathematical abilities to both parents.
Groups purporting to champion the interests of “racially aware white people”, daily and non-stop trumpet the argument against diversity energetically.
Whatever one may think personally of the above mentioned groups (I have suffered from such people in several workplaces) one owes truth the obligation of considering what they say as objectively as reasonably possible.
They argue that a racially and culturally diverse society is inherently weak. The various communities have different and conflicting loyalties and there is a tremendous challenge when everyone is required to pull together, as when disaster strikes. This has been demonstrated dramatically in the post-Hurricane Katrina episode in New Orleans after the levees broke, thereby flooding the city. The racial groups did not act together and fought furiously among themselves; they followed sectional interests and not general interests. When rescue helicopters arrived to take away some “priority” people they were stoned by others who felt that they had been marginalized by not being selected first instead. The (largely black) police force failed to rise to the occasion and, during the depths of the crisis, about 100 police officers handed in their badges.
Furthermore, a diverse society is a happy hunting ground for foreign adventurers who want to control and rule it. By using the method of unequal treatments of the various communities and families and individuals the ancient tried and tested methodology of “divide and rule” works again and again. Malaya, (as Malaysia was previously called), was ruled by third parties who gave different treatments to the Chinese and the Malays. The present prosperity of Malaysia is partly owing to the fact that the authorities there stamp furiously on anyone who attempts to favour Chinese over Malay or vice versa.
Furthermore, some viewpoints are difficult to assimilate. Consider the following news report:
“Allah may not be too happy with space exploration, according to theologians of the ****** desert religion of Islam. Malaysia, a majority-Muslim nation, is wrestling with the thorny question of how and in what direction its first astronaut will pray when he is launched into orbit in October of 2007. Two Muslim Malays are slated to take a ride on one of Russia's mighty Soyuz spaceships to the International Space Station, part of a deal the Kremlin offered in hopes of selling MiG fighter jets to the South East Asian state. According to Reuters, much effort has been put into "solving" the "problem." "Following Earth time and facing in the direction of Earth are the key elements...said Zainol Abidin Abdul Rashid, a professor at the Space Science Institute attached to the National University of Malaysia. Professor Zainol said he had written a computer programme with the help of his graduate students to calculate the correct prayer times and directions for astronauts, once their positions are keyed in. "It can be set up on a computer or even a personal digital assistant, and figuring out your location is as simple as connecting to the Internet," Professor Zainol told Reuters...But other perplexing questions remain - what about ablutions before prayers, and how does one kneel in zero gravity?" Luckily, lots of hot air is being expended to answer just such thorny questions.”
Even allowing for a great deal of tolerance and general latitude, it is extremely difficult for an average European to adjust to the thought ways of Professor Zainol. In this example the “take” on the problems posed by orbital near-space flight are so different from the thinking of Western minds that adjustment is nearly impossible, if not completely out of the question.
Therefore, I submit that diversity can work only when it is practised by selected people who can mix, merge and work together.
THE END
This article was published on 4th May, 2006 in the Bangla Mirror newspaper, the first English language weekly for the United Kingdom's Bangladeshis - read all over the world, from the Arctic to the Antarctic
posted by Ali | 1:50 PM
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