Everyone has been discriminated against at some point in their life. This is where people who pretend that they are Goth usually spring up and scream "Ooh! I was called a freak today! Isn't that totally bad! Wow, I'm so different, I think I'll go cut myself!"

And so on.

But I'm talking serious discrimination here. Where people are honestly just plain cruel. I'm sure we've all experienced this in some way, whether directly on the giving or receiving end, or through observation.

But why do we feel the need sometimes to do this? Is it simply in our nature to feel "better" than another person for some sort of stupid reason, like race, gender, age, or creedo? Or is it the way we were brought up? We're exposed to so many media stereotypes as we grow up that it could almost twist us to such an attitude. The grandparents of those in our generation spent a big part of their lives during the segregation period. The influence is certainly there...

People from different social groups ("lifestyles" if you will) are often discriminated against. The gothic subculture (or what they thought it was, anyway) was targeted by the government soon after the Columbine tragedy. Gays claim discrimination quite a lot. Etcetera.

Professional discrimination is rampant as well. Affirmative action is, essentially, quantity over quality. Michigan State assigned that point system to their applications, in which you received a 3 for a good essay, a 5 for an amazing SAT score, and 20 if you were black. Is this fair? I don't think it is. If everyone wants equality, then shouldn't everyone be expected to work EQUALLY to gain what they wish to gain?

I'm not racist at all, and I don't mean for any of my attitudes to be taken as such.

Perhaps age discrimination is the most constant and consistant of all...The young resent the old, the old resent the young. Adults are, in many cases, immediately suspicious of a group of teenagers. Hazing happens within high schools. Seniority-related things...we're taught that this is OK to do. But isn't it just discrimination that we're condoning through this?

What are your thoughts? Is discrimination part of human instinct and nature? Or is it learned and condoned through our society? And what about equality?