The problem with longing for a truly inclusive and diverse society is that we haven't really sat down to ponder on what that really means. For a society to be truly diverse, it must welcome and include everyone. From the ones who look and think like us, to the ones who don't. It must include what we consider good and what we consider bad and every flavour in between. It must also welcome everything that we think is beautiful and everything that we consider ugly of this world. If that is not the case, then it's not a truly diverse society. What does your version of diversity look like?
We can't fight for inclusion by excluding others. That would make us hypocrites. And, as much as this notion hurts, if when you think of a diverse and inclusive world you eliminate a group that you deem unacceptable then you are just creating another broken version of the world we already live in.
This is not to say that we should condone the behaviour of those who attempt against humanity and human rights. Those should never go unpunished. But, it is the duty of our society to establish mechanisms to guarantee that we can all coinhabit our communities in peace.
What are those mechanisms? I don't have the answer. But we have already seen a version of our society that doesn't work. Our communities have lost respect, empathy and accountability. These three elements that were ingrained in my education while I was growing up don't seem to exist anymore. Our communities are so fractured and divided that at this point we have finally achieved some shape of equality. One in which we all equally hate someone else.
We need a more permanent solution. For decades we championed tolerance and political correctness, and those who didn't agree with us were pushed to the side. Then, we started working towards a more equal and diverse world, and those who wouldn't jump on board were cast out.
Now, those who we tried to keep on the edges of society have grown stronger and they have found the leaders that they needed to reclaim their space. And they have come with a fight. We are fighting back with our flags of inclusivity and sustainability and I'm sure we will push them out again. But, for how long? Until they regroup, find new leaders and recharge their batteries? When will this end? Is there another way?
In every ecosystem, there needs to be a balance for all the species to survive. We must find that balance in our communities. That version of society might differ from the image of an ideal society that we have in our minds, but we must find a way to coexist by respecting our differences and empathising with those who don't think like us.
I'm not pretending that this will be easy nor that the perfect version of society that fits everyone's needs exists. All I know is that, whenever I hear versions of inclusive societies that don't have a space for everyone I wonder if we really want inclusion or if all we want is a version of society where everyone looks like us. That doesn't sound very diverse to me.
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