Democracy is a wonderful thing, but it’s not perfect. The majority can always intimidate, discriminate against or simply ignore the minority.
As Kermit the Frog used to sing, “It’s not easy being green.” It’s tough enough to be different, and even tougher if you’re not accepted for it.
Small minorities with obvious needs — the blind and hearing-impaired, for example — do (rightly) get special consideration in society. Other groups that comprise 20 or 30 percent of the population have the necessary numbers to at least make themselves heard. But there’s a group in between — about 10 percent — that hardly anyone ever thinks about. They could use a little attention.
So spare a thought for…
• The 10% who are left-handed. Cars, computer mice, our system of writing, and controls on certain machines are mostly designed for the convenience of the right-handed majority.
• The 10% of men who are color-blind. (This genetic disorder rarely affects women.) We assume everyone can see the colors we do, or read colored text on a colored background, but not everyone can.
• The 10% who are night owls or who work night shifts. They don’t do their vacuuming at 1 a.m., so there’s no need to wake them up with garbage trucks at the crack of dawn.
• The 10% (in America and central Europe) who are lactose-intolerant. Try to identify any food that does not contain milk, cheese or cream, and you’ll see what they’re up against. In prepared foods, lactose is often added as a thickener or flavoring agent. Why?
• The 10% who are unintelligent. If you have an IQ of 120 or above, you are in the top 10%. Congratulations. But you are balanced out by someone in the bottom 10%, who has an IQ of 80 or below — like Forrest Gump. Somebody needs to take care of that person.
• The 10% who are short. Let them in front of you so they can see what’s going on.
• The 10% who are alcoholics. Like the 10% who are problem gamblers or problem spenders, these people need help. It would help to stop the bombardment with messages — through advertising and the behavior of the majority — that equate drinking with popularity and spending money with success or recognition.
• The 10% who are gay or lesbian, and who simply want to be accepted.
• The 10% who have been sexually abused. They suffer in silence, having learned as children to hide any signs that something is wrong. They often spend decades in therapy, trying to develop a “normal” attitude to their bodies.
• The 10% (or many more in some cultures) who have had to live with domestic violence.
• The 10% who have a mental illness (probably undiagnosed). Self-destructive behavior and immense costs to society — through crime, homelessness and drug use — may result if they don’t get help.
• The 10% who have a physical handicap or a chronic physical ailment — usually one that’s not visible.
• The 10% who are lateral thinkers. Some people are able to see patterns where others can’t. All too often, society fails to appreciate this.
• In short, the 10% who are different through no choice of their own.
I’ve known several people who fit into each of these categories, and maybe you’ve thought of some you’ve known as well. You’ll have seen that all the 10 percents I’ve mentioned here add up to more than 100 percent. Each of us is, in some way, different. We are all the 10 percent.
That’s my thought for the New Year.
