Preference and Discrimination

Yesterday we were discussing the topic of preference and discrimination in class. I was recounting a story to Su and XP about how I was at a Suntec City toilet when this mother with her 4-year-old (thereabout) son was in the line. I overheard the boy saying something like “the flower one fatty bom bom” (I was wearing a shirt with flower prints that day.). Not only that, he went on saying “fatty bom bom, bom bom bom, bom bom bom …” as though it was amusing. Frankly speaking, it was amusing, even though I was the object of insult. I knew the boy was being rude, but I couldn’t be arsed to do anything about it. Because if I had said anything, it would have meant (1) I admit it was me, aka. I think I am a fatty bom bom myself; (2) I am being intolerant towards guileless young children; (3) I am generally a nasty person. So I ignored the child. His lack of manners obviously stems from something else. The mother did not stop him, which adequately shows how much respect SHE has for other people (i.e. me). So if I had tried to say anything, how would such a parent retaliate? Or deflect the accusation by feigning ignorance? Get me right, I am not condoning the act, but I took a step back and decided not to act because I gave the issue some thought: (1) this is ill upbringing, which is something I can’t be arsed to interfere with, because without insensitive asses like these, there are no GOOD people in this world (relatively, of course.) (2) A child with ill manners will never make it big in life anyway, so that’s good enough justice. (3) Stealing a quote from a friend, I only have endure this lousy attitude for 5 minutes, the child and his parents will have to endure it for a lifetime. Aw. So sad right? Now, don’t chide me for having vengeful thoughts and being mentally evil, that is my right as a thinking creature.

Anyway, back to the topic on preference and discrimination. At the end of the discussion we sort of came to an agreement that it’s a very thin line between what’s preference and what’s discrimination. The rationale is that, when you use a certain variable (e.g. physical attributes) as a basis to judge another variable (e.g. work performance), you are discriminating. For example, guy A abhors fat women. In being the boss of a radio station, he admits a twiggy DJ over a fat DJ,even though they both have equal qualifications. That is discrimination because size is not a relevant nor justified basis of rejection here. However, the tricky part comes when it’s choosing a romantic partner. if I said I preferred rich men, and so refuse to go out with this poor fella, is that discriminating? I don’t think the crux lies in whether the choice is rationally justifiable, but then again I’m not sure what makes it NOT a discrimination then. So there’s that thin line between preference and discrimination.