As a result of Christian and post-Christian slave morality (Nietzsche) and socialist dreams, but also as a result of the domination interests of the states, egalitarianism is currently being propagated on an unprecedented scale. Discriminate, a neutral term until the 19th century, first experienced a deterioration in the meaning in English, during the American Civil War: To discriminate meant to treat Negroes differently, and actually less favorably, than whites. Since then, discriminate has increasingly been used only pejuratively. This is now taking on frightening dimensions. In Germany, for example, it is a new trend for elementary school teachers to ask children not to call anyone their best friend, as is particularly popular with girls (bff). Because that would discriminate against all the other girls. When we start to condemn the very act of choosing friends as discrimination, we are approaching a life-threatening abyss: Live is to discriminate.
The omnipresent prohibition of discrimination leads to a totalitarian society.
It is particularly perfidious that this de-differentiation propaganda is even being carried out under the banner of diversity, the colorfulness of the cities and countries. If you take a look at the german or english Wikipedia entry on the topic of discrimination, it quickly becomes clear how one-sided the criticism of discrimination is. In both, long, texts, for example, a reference to the spreading pandemic of cancel culture is missing, which, if nothing else, is a celebration of hostile discrimination.
So no! We are not living in colorful but in dark times. Every child knows what happens when you simply throw all the colors together in a pot and stir. The result is brown, the color of Nazi-German rule.
Especially the accepting basic attitude according to the approach of Carl Rogers can be misunderstood, as if it was about loving everything equally to tolerate and to like. But this cannot be derived from the approach of Rogers and, by the way, also not from the theory of Gestalt therapy, for which differentiation is a basic concept, which can always be interpreted as discrimination and defamation, even if this was not intended..
As Cynics, we resist the pervasive prohibitions against discrimination.
In no way does the currently rampant de-differentiation correspond to that of Cynic philosophy. The realization of one’s own self is, after all, central to us. And we just have inclinations and dislikes. We don’t have to find ugly things beautiful. We won’t ignore beautiful things. And we don’t want to admire the emperor’s new clothes. If we perceive that there are differences between races, sexes, peoples, species, etc., then we trust our differences. we trust our perception.
However, cynical philosophy cannot justify racism. We are cosmopolitans. Diogenes was even the first cosmopolitan and Eponym for this term.
We assume — with all differences — that God pursues a plan with every individual, no matter to which religion, to which people the individual belongs. Better is always the one who realizes himself more, worse is always the one who submits to strangers and neglects or even altruistically gives up his own self.
Our only virtue we Cynics insist on is parrhesia: unabashedly telling the truth about ourselves. The ubiquitous prohibition of discrimination is a direct attack on our cynical life. We don’t let it do that to us. We continue to tell the truth about ourselves without rhetorical obfuscation tactics. Our live ist to discriminate.
And as always: no rights just mights.