We were quick to look at the Gates Affair through the lens of race. But it soon became clear that race was not the whole story. To bring things fully into focus, we needed a second lens—that of rank. The lens of race highlights the well known injustices of racism. The lens of rank reveals the less well recognized indignities of rankism.

Rankism has not received the attention that racism has, but perhaps its time has come. Before looking through the lens of rank, a common misconception must be cleared away. Rank, in itself, is not the problem. Like race, rank just is, a fact of life. Rank tells us who’s in charge. Used properly, it’s a useful organizational tool. The problem lies not with rank per se, but in rank abuse. By analogy with racism, sexism, and ageism, abuse of the power signified by rank is rankism. Once you have a name for it, you see it everywhere.

Rankism is the principal cause of manmade indignity. As indignities accumulate, it becomes harder to repress the indignation they seed. Beyond a threshold that varies according to personal history, indignation erupts. It is not hard to understand why Professor Gates felt humiliated by treatment he interpreted as another instance of the racial profiling that has long dogged African-Americans and others lacking the protections of social rank. On top of that, a pillar of common law has it that “a man’s home is his castle.” Homeowner Gates might reasonably have assumed that he outranked a law enforcement officer on his home turf. While giving vent to his indignation can be questioned, it’s not difficult to understand his anger.

Now turn the lens of rank on the attending police. Police are trained to assume command of unruly situations. While on duty, the understanding is that our guardians outrank us, precisely so they will have the authority they need to stabilize volatile situations. As public servants, we expect the police to exercise their authority according to strict rules that safeguard individual rights and the public interest. On those occasions when our guardians do abuse their rank, victims’ only resort is to take the matter to higher authority. That minorities and the poor, more than others, must pursue justice in this way is evidence that rankism falls disproportionately on them.

The Gates Affair, and the discussion it has provoked, were incubated in America’s racial history and aggravated by confusion about rank and its proper use. To reach a judgment on the Gates Affair, one must decide whether or not Professor Gates improperly attempted to assert his rank—as a Harvard professor or as homeowner—over the policeman. It is equally germane to ascertain whether or not Sergeant Crowley overstepped his legitimate authority in arresting Professor Gates. My purpose here is not to rehash, let alone try to pass judgment, but rather to find, in our obsession with the incident, a clue to the crux of the matter. The Gates Affair is that rarest of teachable moments—one that provides an opportunity to drive home an old lesson while offering us a new one.

The Gates Affair reminds us of our sorry history of racial profiling and gives new impetus to ending it. It also suggests that we’re more likely to eradicate profiling if we show our guardians the same dignity that we seek for ourselves.

But, more important than assigning blame in the case is turning the lens of rank around and seeing what it tells us about ourselves and our relationships. The clash between Professor Gates and Sergeant Crowley grips us because it mirrors our own struggles with rank and its rightful use.

How much deference is due our boss, our spouse, elders, children, teachers, doctors, religious leaders, and elected officials? Where does the proper use of rank end, and rankism begin? When it is we who are outranked, do our superiors treat us respectfully? If not, why not? In those areas where we hold rank over others, do we protect their dignity as we would have them protect our own?

At long last, we’ve got racism in our sights. But rankism is still largely below the radar. Like racism and sexism before they were identified, rankism is endemic, ubiquitous, and seemingly impregnable. It’s an unrecognized source of dysfunctionality in families, schools, the workplace, religious institutions, and heathcare. Like the more familiar isms, now finally on the defensive, it too will have to be rooted out of our social institutions if we are to perfect our union.

The Gates Affair offers an opportunity to widen our lens so as to take in all varieties of rank abuse and to recognize the indignities that arise therefrom. The professor and the policeman will have served us well if the incident with which they are identified is seen as a milestone towards an America in which, without exception, everyone—the public and the police, employees and employers, students and teachers, blacks and whites, young and old, gays and straights, everyone—is held in equal dignity.

Epilogue to All Rise–Things You Can Do For Dignity

America is broken. Even if we pull through the current economic crisis, recovery won’t last absent an overhaul of our primary institutions.

• One out of ten Americans is now unemployed and the recovery is expected to be jobless.
• Fifty million Americans have no heath insurance; two million, no home.
• Two million Americans are in jail.
• Our public schools have fallen behind those of most developed nations.
• Higher education is priced out of reach of the middle class.
• Our infrastructure is in an advanced state of disrepair.
• We rank first in greenhouse gas emissions.
• Immigration, once our pride, is now our shame.
• We’re living on credit and leaving the debt to our children.

The crisis is compounded by corruption of the democratic process. Politicians who owe their seats to private and corporate money are not easily persuaded to put the public interest over the special interests of their benefactors.

If our predicament were one in which there was an emergent consensus about the proper remedy, President Obama might be able to orchestrate an epochal makeover–as President Johnson did in the civil rights crisis. Most Americans knew then that African-Americans were victims of racism and that segregation was wrong. But today, reformers are themselves divided and many of the issues are of such complexity as to defy broad public comprehension.

Despite his formidable rhetorical gifts, President Obama has yet to tell us how to repair our broken institutions. But he may be doing something even better. He may be showing us the way. America’s problems run deep, and solutions will have to be grounded in a new politics–the politics of dignity.

President Obama is a herald of the politics of dignity. He’s an instinctive dignitarian. Not libertarian, not egalitarian. Dignitarian. It matters not when and how he acquired his dignitarian manner, or that he may not conform to it one hundred percent of the time. What matters is that in his personal relations and political positions he sets an example of respecting human dignity, regardless of role or rank.

It was Obama’s inclusiveness that first brought him to national attention. As the keynote speaker of the 2004 Democratic National Convention, then Illinois State Senator Obama struck a dignitarian note. In asking us to see ourselves not as citizens of red states or blue states, but rather as citizens of the United States, Obama gave us a preview of a new politics of dignity that can extricate us from our current crises. The dignitarian politics that seems to come naturally to President Obama represents not a compromise, but a synthesis of libertarian and egalitarian politics, and in doing so provides an analysis that reconciles conservatism and liberalism.

Dignity for whom? you ask. Dignity for all. For blacks and whites, for men and women, for gays and straights, for young and old, for rich and poor, for immigrants and the native-born, for conservatives and progressives. Obama is also trying to engage friend and foe alike in a global dignitarian dialogue. Dignity for all.

What is the politics of dignity that President Obama exemplifies? It goes far beyond good manners, respect, and civility, though it includes these. Dignity is achieved by methodically eliminating indignities–interpersonal, institutional, societal, and international.

The American people know that indignities their nation has inflicted on the world have diminished America’s stature. And, they know that the daily humiliations that they and their fellow citizens are enduring are incompatible with lives of dignity and signify institutional failure.

How could Obama’s presidency address the indignities that manifest as unemployment, corporate corruption, failed schools, no health insurance, foreclosure, homelessness, recidivism, and the subversion of our democracy by moneyed special interests?

To combat indignity, we need to be clear about its cause. The cause of indignity is not power, nor is it power differences. It is rather the abuse of power. To oppose indignity, we do not have to eliminate differences in power, nor the differences in rank that merely reflect them. Persons of high rank who treat their subordinates with dignity are admired, if not loved.

Rank, in itself, is not the culprit. The problem is rank abuse, and it has grown to epidemic proportions. Abuses of rank have no place in a dignitarian world. Taking a page from the women’s movement, if we are to combat rank abuse effectively, we must give it a distinctive name, preferably one that puts perpetrators on the defensive. By analogy with racism, sexism, and ageism, abuse of the power inherent in rank is rankism. Once you have a name for it, you see it everywhere.

The outrage over bonuses for failed Wall Street executives is indignation over rankism. The power of lobbyists to override the democratic will of the people is rankism. The deregulation of the financial industry, which made a virtue of self-aggrandizement and facilitated predatory loans and Ponzi schemes, led to the financial ruin of millions and created the worst recession in four score years.

As racism denigrated and disadvantaged blacks, and sexism disenfranchised and restricted women, so rankism marginalizes and exploits the working poor, keeping them in their place while their low pay effectively subsidizes everyone else. As class membranes become less permeable, resignation, cynicism, and indignation mount.

An America in which the American Dream has become a mirage is not an America worthy of the name. The achievability of that dream is what made this country the envy of the world and made us, its citizens, proud. Making that dream good again is a challenge comparable to overcoming the second-class citizenship that has limited blacks, women, gays, and others. Building a dignitarian society is democracy’s next evolutionary step.

A dignitarian society will naturally conduct itself differently on the world stage. Nowhere is rankism more dangerous than in foreign relations. International terrorism has multiple, complex causes, but one factor over which we do have a say is rankism between nations. There is no fury like that borne of chronic humiliation. President Obama’s demeanor suggests that he understands that a vital part of a strong defense is not giving offense in the first place. His speeches abroad have begun to restore good will toward the United States, and while good will alone does not constitute a national defense, it surely beats the ill- will that we have garnered in recent years.

President Johnson, following his personal instincts, led his fellow countrymen through an about-face on segregation. Much as overcoming a legacy of racism is the work of several generations, so too is the task of building a dignitarian society. President Obama knows that solutions won’t arise out of politics as usual. His personification of dignitarian politics resonates not only with Americans but around the world. The next step is to turn from exemplifying the politics of dignity to enunciating its policy implications and molding them into a legislative agenda for a dignitarian America.

Help make “rankism” a household word—by using it—so those who are dismissed as “nobodies” can pin the label “rankist” on their abusers.
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The only thing as important as how we treat the Earth is how we treat each other. Ending rankism brings dignity to all and to Mother Earth.
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End Rankism! Don’t Put Up with Indignity! Dignity for All! 20 things you can do: http://bit.ly/bJa2r
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Looking for allies to use social media to grow a movement dedicated to the proposition of equal dignity for all. http://www.dignity4all.org
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Malrecognition usually takes the form of too little recognition. Idolization is rarer form, but it too can be fatal—Jackson, Presley, Monroe.
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Malrecognition is too little, or too much, or unwarranted recognition. Recognition is to the self what food is to the body.
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Michael Jackson died of “malrecognition.” Everyone knows what malnutrition is—and that you can die of it. But what is malrecognition?
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“Without a theory, the facts are silent.” – Friederich A. von Hayek “Without the facts, theories are dreams.” – Thomas J. Scheff
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Wherever you find a society that harbors a big income disparity between its richest and poorest, there is RANKISM. http://bit.ly/QgMxd
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Idolization does to humans what royal jelly does to a bee. It inflates and distorts and renders them vulnerable, dependent, even grotesque.
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To make change you must know 2 things: What you’re for and what you’re against. What Moms Are Rising Against at HuffPo: http://bit.ly/NDCb9
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Rank differs from class, and rankism from classism. Rankism—putting others down—is the wellspring of social inequality. http://bit.ly/deVqL
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Idolization is one form of malrecognition, which is as harmful (Jackson, Presley, Monroe) and as dangerous (terrorism) as is malnutrition.
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The idolization we foist on our troubadours is like the royal jelly force-fed a Queen Bee. Results are similar: distortion and grotesquerie.
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What is rankism? It’s what we’re seeing in Iran—it’s when one group uses power to put down, demean, discriminate against, or exploit others.
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The route from liberty to justice goes by way of dignity. As we stand up for dignity, economic justice becomes a realistic political goal.
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To secure dignity for all, we must target RANKISM—the source of indignity—as civil rights movement targeted racism.
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The original N-word is unspeakable. The new N-word is “Nobody,” a rankist epithet, & like its predecessor, headed for disuse.
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A dignity movement against rankism (humiliating, dissing, disadvantaging, or exploiting other people) is democracy’s next evolutionary step.
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When the word “rankism”—putting people down—is as well known as “racism” and “sexism,” it will be as indefensible as they are.
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At some point in this century, humankind will retire its old predatory strategy—exploiting the weak—in favor of protective strategy for all.
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We’ve tried Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity as keystones of human governance. If we added Dignity, wouldn’t the world work for everyone?
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The Ayotollahs don’t seem to understand Vartan Gregorian’s deep insight that “Dignity is not negotiable.”
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Rankism is what somebodies do to people they see as nobodies: they put them down. For 20 ways to combat rankism: http://bit.ly/B2tq6.
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If we can get “rankism” into the vocab. of regular folks, it will do for them what “sexism” has for women.
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Hard data from British team proves bleeding-heart liberals right: More Equal Societies Do Better. Explained at HuffPo: http://bit.ly/YPqwx
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New Community Model in prisons drops recidivism rate from 50 to 5 %. Pamela Gerloff blog at HuffPost: http://bit.ly/1myY8v
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Dignity works, even and especially, in prisons. A new program drops the recidivism rate from 50 to 5 %. http://bit.ly/Tzs26
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War is SO Over! (It simply doesn’t work any more. In our time, predation & indignity yield to protection and dignity for all.)
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Dignity is not negotiable. – Vartan Gregorian
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Dignity, YES! Rankism, NO!
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The Civil Rights, Suffragette, Modern Women’s, & Gay Movements are all campaigns that produced behavioral change on a national scale.
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An ass had the task of carrying the statue of Isis, & when the populace honored the statue, he thought the honor was his.–Georg Lichtenberg
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Aristotle could have avoided thinking women have fewer teeth than men by simply asking Mrs. Aristotle to open her mouth. -Bertrand Russell
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Pres. Obama’s appeal comes from practicing the politics of dignity: Everyone is a somebody; no one’s a nobody. Rankism’s out; dignity’s in.
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Obama heralds a new politics of dignity. Dignitarian politics transcends libertarian & egalitarian politics to embrace equal dignity for all.
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Rankism is to mental health as pollution is to physical health. Living with chronic rankism is as bad as smoking 3 packs of cigarettes a day.
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During the 21st century, humankind will retire its ancient strategy of preying on the weak & adopt a new survival strategy—dignity for all.
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President Obama is an instinctive dignitarian. More than most, he understands that dignity works and treats others without regard for rank.
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Dignity works in prison. A dignitarian community model in Virginia lowers recidivism rate from 50 to 5%. http://bit.ly/1aqE5E
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20 ways to combat rankism: http://bit.ly/B2tq6. Rankism is what somebodies may do to those they (mis)take for nobodies.
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Dignitarian politics is a synthesis of libertarian and egalitarian politics that can deliver on social justice. http://www.dignity4all.org
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The route from liberty to justice goes by way of dignity. As we stand up for dignity, economic justice becomes an achievable political goal.
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The only thing as important as how we treat the Earth is how we treat each other. Ending rankism brings dignity to all and to Mother Earth.
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What is rankism? Briefly: http://bit.ly/qz3yO. In depth: http://dignity4all.org. Rankism creates indignity & indignity creates indignation.
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What is rankism? It’s abuse of the power attached to rank. Typically, it’s what “Somebodies” do to “Nobodies.”
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“Somebodies and Nobodies” & “All Rise” & “Dignity for All” define rankism and call for dignity movement to overcome it. http://bit.ly/MysYQ
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If we establish the right to die with dignity, can we not also establish right to live in dignity: healthcare, higher ed, living wage 4 all?
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Dignity protected in constitutions of South Africa, Germany, Canada, Bangladesh.
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“To have a name is to be.”—B Mandelbrot (father of “fractals”). Likewise, calling abuses of rank “rankism” renders them real and resistible.
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Know you what it is to be a child? … it is to believe in belief … — Francis Thompson, British poet (1859–1907)
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Looking for fellow geeks who can figure out how to use social media to build dignity movement to fight rankism. HELP! http://dignity4all.org
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Imagine the Self not as singular and immutable, but as a superposition of selves-in-waiting, any one of which may someday take center stage.
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“Modern art [is a] cultural expression of a larger political gamble on the…possibility of living in change & without absolutes.”-K. Varnedoe
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A dignity movement that targets indignities by disallowing rankism in all its many guises is democracy’s next natural evolutionary step.
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Subspecies of rankism: racism, sexism, homophobia, ageism, ableism, classism, corruption, bullying, torture, exceptionalism, one-upmanship.
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Genes encode bodies that reproduce & promulgate their genetic constituents. Memes encode selves that promulgate their mimetic constituents.
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Rankism is what “somebodies” may do to people they (mis)take for nobodies: presuming themselves superior or more important, they condescend.
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“War is a game, which, were their subjects wise, Kings would not play at.” —Wm. Cowper (18th c). We need to devise a better game than war.
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“Man is a creature who makes pictures of himself, and then comes to resemble the picture.” — Iris Murdoch (as quoted by Simon Leys in NYRB)
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A “dignitarian” society aims to equalize dignity regardless of role or rank. It disallows rankism, as now we deligitimize racism, sexism…9:58 AM Apr 28th from web
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Nobodies of the world unite! We have nothing to lose but our shame.