Its Just Who I Am: Deal WIth It

"Look how he abused me and beat me,
How he threw me down and robbed me."
Live with such thoughts and you live in hate.

"Look how he abused me and beat me,
How he threw me down and robbed me."
Abandon such thoughts, and live in love.

In this world
Hate never yet dispelled hate.
Only love dispels hate.
This is the law,
Ancient and inexhaustible.
You too shall pass away.
Knowing this, how can you quarrel?
from the DHAMMAPADA


          I have been thinking lately on hate and its many forms.   Hate means to dislike intensely, loathe and despise.  Despise means to look down on contemptuously.  Hate is not specific to one race or culture.   It is not alone in one gender.
          Discrimination, which is often associated with hate, is defined as treatment with consideration of, or making a distinction in favor, or against, a person, or thing, based on the group, class, or catagory to which that person, or thing, belongs; rather than on individual merit.  For instance racial and religious intolerance and discrimination, or womanizing behavior.
          I think we all forget from time to time that every culture has its history of discrimination.  But lately I have become a bit confused.   I have increasingly heard many people make the statement that America has no culture?  If this is true and we are a mish mash of traditions and cultures then where did our culture of discrimination come from?  If we are truley a melting pot of many ideas and thoughts than hate, as it applies to discrimination, can not be blamed on one specific race, religion, gender or culture.  There fore we are all to blame regardless of race, religion, gender or culture, and we must all be responsible.
          There is also a difference between discrimination and being discriminating.   Discriminating means that a person is attempting to make a fine discintion of something; that a person has good judgement.  This deffinition most certainly should not be confused with discrimination.   For instance; if a person decides to be discriminateing and chooses not to associate with someone, based on individual merit, this is not necessarily the same thing as choosing not to associate with someone based on racial and/or religious intolerance and discrimination; sometimes people just don't agree with each other and race, religion and gender have nothing to do with it.
          There is a word called equanimity.  Equanimity means mental or emotional stability or composure, especially under tension or strain.  It is calm, equilibrium, serenity, self-possession, aplomb (poise).   In Sanskrit this word is upeksha and also means nondiscriminiation.   It means there is no longer any barrier.  Happiness is no longer an individual matter.  Suffering is also no longer an individual matter.  There is no distinction between us. 
          Another way to translate it is inclusivness.   No one is excluded.   The deepest gift that being mindful can bring is the widsom of nondiscrimination.   We are not noble by birth.  Meaning that none of us has an exalted moral or mental charecter.  This we all need to be mindful of.   We are noble only in the way we choose to think, speak and act. 
          The pith of the matter?    So many people use the excuse, "thats who I am deal with it." or, "that's just my sense of humor."  Well sometimes dealing with it means being discriminatory; not only from the giving end but also on the recieving end.  Everyone is guilty of saying and doing things that insult and/or hurt someones feelings.  But choosing not to take responsibility for it is the real hate crime and is discrimination and hate in their most base form.  Hate not only for someone else, but ultimately for yourself.  Discrimination because you choose not to recognize how what you have said, or done, insulted someone whether they are black, white, asian, hispanic, christian, buddhist, islamic, wicca, athiest, agnostic, young, old, middle aged, rich, poor, male or female.  If you choose not to be discriminatory in your words and/or actions then the person on the recieving end has the choice to discriminate against you based on your individual merit and THAT has nothing to do with your race, religion, gender and/or culture.  When you have love for yourself being discriminitory is easy because you are being mindful.   America's culture could be about this. 
          Now if you didn't know me what race, religion and gender would I be?  
          Not knowing this, how can you quarrel?