Rules versus prejudices

With all of the chaos these days surrounding masks and vaccines, I see a lot of talk about what our “rights” are, and whether certain mandates might be violating them.

I’ve seen it laid out pretty clearly in a few places and it makes sense to me with two simple ideas.

If it is something you can change, it’s a rule

You don’t have to like it, and it might make your life less convenient, but any business can impose a rule if they want to. This means wearing shoes in a store, or wearing a mask if you’re asked to.

There are a lot of rules out there that I don’t like, but that doesn’t matter; if a business puts a rule in place, I can either abide by it or choose to go elsewhere. My rights are untouched either way.

If it is something you can’t change, it’s a prejudice

If the color of your skin, disability, or something else outside of your control is limiting what you can do, that’s a prejudice and is indeed a violation of your rights. These are known as immutable characteristics (“ any sort of physical attribute which is perceived as being unchangeable, entrenched and innate” — Wikipedia) and they should never hold you back.

You may find yourself dealing with rules that you don’t agree with, but the difference should be pretty easy to understand.

Originally published at https://www.mickmel.com on October 9, 2021.