I came across an Instagram post today, posted by someone that I consider to be a friend. The post is something that is unsettling to a degree that I can only compare to heartbreak.
The first half of the post is neither here nor there, but the second half is very disturbing. The implication here seems to be that a collective group of human beings have no value. Not only that, but the writer takes pleasure in viewing a group of human beings as having no value. The dehumanization that must occur in order for anyone to take pleasure the idea that a collective group has no value paves the way for genocidal events similar to those that we have witnessed in recent history. It is not good.
The better social narrative is the idea that all life has value. This idea lead the way to the most basic law: killing another human being is wrong, because their life has value. If you detach value from a human being, as done by the common narrative “useless men,” you’re only a stone’s throw away from atrocities that I’d rather not write about.
Tearing others down to build yourself up. This is wrong. This type of thinking stems from a place of scarcity. The scarcity idea being “for me to eat, another must not.” The truth, in abundance, is that there is room for everyone to eat at the table. You do not have to tear others down to build yourself up.
You have value. You know the reasons that you have value, and that is a beautiful thing. Others also have value, and humanity is beautifully imperfect. We should all build each other by calling out the value in each human being, calling each other to greatness.
I warn against saying anything “just because its nice.” The calling should be genuine. Call out the value, while never letting anything leave your mouth that you don’t wholeheartedly believe. It’s really quite difficult to genuinely call out the greatness and value in others while existing our dark and criticizing world.
If you find yourself in a position where you cannot recognize value in another human being, what then? Is this from a place of hatred an contempt? Surely it cannot be from a place of love and wisdom?
Edit: The latter part of this post also reinforces the idea that the value of men is in their utility. If they have no utility, they have no value. Reminds me of the Chris Rock comedy bit “unconditional love.” Society trains men to derive value from “what they do” and “what they provide.” That’s not necessarily a bad thing, until you’ve convinced someone that they have no utility and can provide nothing. Where else must their self-worth be derived other than from where society tells them that they should derive it from? The psychological damage that comes from an individual believing that they have no value is not something to be overlooked. The fate of those that allow themselves to be torn down to this degree never has a good ending.