20 Ways to Combat Rankism
1. Break the taboo on rank. Make it a safe subject for discussion in the workplace.
2. Acknowledge the roles of others and support equitable compensation.
3. Keep your promises to “somebodies” and “nobodies” alike.
4. Teach your children their rights. Respect children so they will be respectful.
5. Honor your Inner Nobody and your Inner Somebody alike.
6. Be aware rankism begets rankism. If you’re feeling frustrated, don’t pick on someone of lower rank; and don’t kick the dog!
7. Encourage respect for the other side in sports, debate, and daily life.
8. Think about what you want to pass on. And do it.
9. Health care providers can enlist patients as partners.
10. Show the world dignity through your profession.
11. Recognize that servers are people, too.
12. Try to see outside your position and build a model that synthesizes your outlook with the views of others.
13. Give recognition to someone who deserves it.
14. Bring dignity to law enforcement and conflict resolution.
15. Choose not to participate in disrespectful jokes or conversations.
16. Give your attention to someone you might normally avoid interacting with. Someone with a disability. Someone of another culture. Someone of a different faith.
17. Assist or advocate for immigrants, homeless individuals, the disabled, the elderly, anyone who is especially vulnerable to assaults on their dignity.
18. Offer assistance to someone who may not be getting the help or recognition he or she needs – an elderly neighbor, a new mother, a caregiver.
19. Ask questions about people in authority. Do they use their power to help others, or to keep them down? Have they earned their authority or are they just assuming it?
20. Exemplify rather than exhort.
I REALLY like it!
The link was posted at the pbs forum, Now: Politics and Economy:
http://discussions.pbs.org/viewtopic.pbs?t=60792&postdays=0&postorder=asc&topic_view=&start=0
The thing is, the 20 Ways to Combat Rankism are things I know make a difference, and I can do them.
Thanks.
Comment by Karen Kline —
I wouldn’t want to live in a world without rank. Some people have worked very, very hard to get where they are and deserve respect for their achievements and their experience. However, that doesn’t mean that Joe Blow deserves to be stepped on because he’s not president of his company. Joe’s ideas and unique perspective deserve respect.
Comment by Teresa Valdez Klein —
You have to understand one thing which I perceive Fuller has made succintly clear here. The prime causes of all wars is the fight for human dignity. No human being will inwardly accept his being crushed without fighting violently to regain position. Some fight against themselves if they are too powerless to direct this to the oppressors(somebodies).The collectivity of ‘nobodies’ can together take up arms and wage revolutions.
The Iraqis may find justification for relentlessly fighting to regain their hman dignity purported by this inter and intra rankism.
Refugees are human beings who seek to regain their human dignity. They suffer on extreme rankism in countries of asylum where many suffer permanent psycholgical instability due to this long ‘double rankism’ in both countries. Fuller’s well thought out reconceptualisation of Gramcis’ hegemony is well placed in a world becoming interconnected more than ever.
Comment by Andrew Sankoh —
Keep it simple for us simple folk, Thanks, like your ideas great thanks
Comment by BRR —
Many people who have worked hard never get anywhere. Success and power goes to the corrupt and those whose parents were thieves. The first thing to do is put in place a 100% inheritance tax. Nobody should be rich or powerful just because their parents were criminals.
Comment by Simonb —
This is a great list that really made me think. I especially LOVE #19.
Comment by Cyndi —
Some people seek status then unwittingly use their position to conduct rankism. The 20 ways to combat rankism will build stature – far better than status.
The focus should be on intrinsic dignity (stature) not extrinsic dignity (status)
Comment by Brian Ward —
I agree with Simonb. Too many of the people “at the top” have inherited their “positions” and don’t appreciate the hard work that most people never get rewarded for. The owners of the company I work at inherited their family business and it’s infuriating how they scapegoat and burnout people who have slaved away for many years for them.
Comment by christof —
[...] 20 ways to demand dignity in the workplace: http://www.breakingranks.net/weblog/20-ways [...]
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