Equality in 2023
This post was written by a student. It has not been fact checked or edited.
A thing that can never really be talked about without any controversy is equality. What exactly is equality? Is it treating everyone with respect or is it silencing the problems of oppressed people so that everything looks normal? Unfortunately, the latter is more common. Ableism and nepotism are the most normalised in today’s society. Ableism is discrimination in favour of able-bodied people. Everyday children and adults alike are bullied and harassed for no reason other than they might have a disability. Ableism doesn’t just apply to people in wheelchairs and crutches, it also affects people with illnesses and are no taken seriously enough. For example, in the USA, insulins are extremely expensive and people with diabetes cannot afford to buy insulins every week or so, yet the government does not offer can lower prices, causing most diabetics to live from paycheck to paycheck. People who do not suffer from medical problems might not understand the problems that people with disabilities have and assume that they are overreacting. Disabled people cannot get jobs sometimes and any type of treatment will not help their wallets in any way. In my opinion, I believe that the government should slightly change (not completely, as it would change a lot of laws) so that it is more accessible for disabled people rather than catering towards rich and powerful people that buy their way into everything.
Which leads to my final topic: nepotism. Where do I even begin? Nepotism is the practice among those with power or influence of favouring relatives, friends, or associates. For instance, there could be a contest where you need to create a piece of art. You have made something beautiful, which took you weeks of determination. Your opponent has crafted something which looks like it could take two minutes. Your foe, however, has connections with the judge. They win, your effort goes to waste, and the judge skips all the way home with a handful of cash. That is nepotism. Nepotism causes people to lose jobs and opportunities that could benefit then in the future due to greedy people that would do anything for some sort of payment. A major example is universities. Many universities, especially across the US, favour wealthy people and let their relatives get higher education while normal people get turned down even though they deserve it more. I personally think that universities and other places that are influenced by big business owners should stop and think about the people who actually deserve a placement or job.