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A Man of Few Words - by Swan Morrison

Equalities

Back in the sixties, challenging discrimination was easy. We knew that it was stupid and unfair to disadvantage people on grounds of their colour or race or sexual orientation - and we said so. We were delighted to see others, awareness raised, aligning their views with our own and joining our campaigns for equality.

As the years passed, however, some of us began to feel uneasy about individuals within our own ranks. Often these people were the most ardent and committed campaigners - stopping at nothing to root-out discrimination; locating even other liberals who may, via a chance remark or behaviour, have betrayed latent discriminatory tendencies.

It was the orchestrated campaigns of harassment and victimisation aimed at these transgressing liberals that focused our concerns - campaigns which were as vindictive as those previously launched against minority groups. Sometimes they were even co-ordinated by the very people who had joined us in repentance of their own former prejudice.

The advantages to bullies of discriminating against those who were alleged to discriminate, were huge. Not only was there the feeling of power which derived from bullying, but also the satisfying glow of self-righteousness. Also they had an unassailable moral position - surely if anyone challenged discrimination against someone who was alleged to be discriminating, then that challenge was really attacking the group which the person who was alleged to be discriminating was alleged to be discriminating against.

It took us most of the nineteen-seventies to understand that last sentence. When we did, we resolved to root-out those bullies who had simply switched from mindlessly attacking minority groups to mindlessly attacking those they accused of mindlessly attacking minority groups.

Several took to this with enthusiasm and gusto. Our efforts in understanding the last sentence in the paragraph before last, however, quickly sensitised us to identify that some of these new guardians of equality were actually bullies who, having previously switched from mindlessly attacking minority groups to mindlessly attacking those they accused of mindlessly attacking minority groups, had now switched to mindlessly attacking those who they accused of having previously switched from mindlessly attacking minority groups to mindlessly attacking those they accused of mindlessly attacking minority groups.

Work on understanding that last sentence took much of the nineteen-eighties until one of our number, with degrees in maths and logic from Cambridge, devised explanatory mathematical notation. Mindless discrimination against a minority group was defined as ‘D’. Mindless discrimination against someone accused of mindlessly discriminating against a minority group was defined as ‘D2’. Mindless discrimination against someone accused of mindlessly discriminating against someone accused of mindlessly discriminating against a minority group was defined as ‘D3’ and so on.

I now spend much of my time pursuing such individuals. I recently exposed someone committing D14 in New York and another committing D27 in London. The latter was a difficult battle as he accused me of committing D26! Fortunately his true colours were shown when he demanded that I be publicly flogged, hung, drawn and quartered and all members of my family and home village be shot. All I wanted him to do was behave like an adult and treat other human beings decently.

Back in the sixties, challenging discrimination was easy.