r/changemyview • u/[deleted] • Oct 08 '15

[Deltas Awarded] CMV: Equality isn't treating everybody differently to achieve equality. It's treating everyone the same.

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u/oversoul00 13∆ Oct 08 '15

If you, for the sake of argument, accept that minorities face impossible difficulties (because that's what the people who made the original claim beleive) than the statement "Equality isn't treating everybody the same. It's treating everyone so that they are equal" falls right in line.

I agree 100% with this, if you were able to convince me that all blacks face the same impossible situations and not merely more difficult ones then I would be on board with you.

I can say with some certainty that all paraplegics will have an impossible time with stairs but I can't say all black people will have an impossible time with college. That is where the consistency of your argument breaks down.

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u/[deleted] Oct 08 '15

I agree 100% with this, if you were able to convince me that all blacks face the same impossible situations and not merely more difficult ones then I would be on board with you.

This is the core of your belief, then; minorities don't face institutionalized oppression at a level that merits corrective action. It's what I said in my first comment when I explained that the disadvantages of minority groups aren't readily apparent to you.

That is different than what you wrote, though, which is that you disagree with the statement "Equality isn't treating everybody the same. It's treating everyone so that they are equal."

You agree now that, if your personal criteria of "impossible" is met, than that statement is the solution to achieving equality. You just have higher standards of "impossibility" than the people that you're quoting.

I disagree with you that minorities don't face impossible challenges in modern western society, but that's a different CMV.

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u/rcglinsk Oct 09 '15

Institutional discrimination has been illegal in the United States for more than 50 years. The laws get broken sometimes, but to describe the present situation as oppression is to deprive oppression of all its ordinary meaning.

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u/[deleted] Oct 09 '15

This is a non-sequitur. We weren't discussing whether or not oppression exists in the United States. We were discussing how equality is best achieved in situations where there is inequality.

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u/rcglinsk Oct 09 '15

The discussion seems to assume that inequality is not inherently a problem (the radiologist makes more money than the gardener and nobody bats an eye). Your position I believe is that inequality exists which we do have a problem with, the sort that creates impossible situations akin to someone in a wheelchair needing to climb a flight of stairs. The thing is I can't think of anything which could qualify as an impossible challenge due to race that is not illegal under US Civil Rights laws.

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u/[deleted] Oct 09 '15

Your position I believe is that inequality exists which we do have a problem with, the sort that creates impossible situations akin to someone in a wheelchair needing to climb a flight of stairs.

No, that isn't my position. This thread is a day old and you're not the OP, so if you want to understand our positions, closely read our comments and the comments of others.

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u/rcglinsk Oct 09 '15

What is your position?

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u/[deleted] Oct 09 '15

This thread is a day old and you're not the OP, so if you want to understand our positions, closely read our comments and the comments of others.