It can be difficult to keep in mind that many children are literally taught that they are superior to others by the adults around them, and that this supposed superiority is what makes them valuable. In other words, they're taught that humans are either Superior and therefore valuable, or Inferior, and therefore not valuable.
They are taught to believe that any person can ONLY BE one or the other.
So they live life trying to make sure they are accepted in the "Superior" group. They judge all others to be either in the "Superior" group OR the "Inferior" group.
To them, if they are not seen as a member of the "Superior" group, then they will be considered "Inferior", and therefore tossed aside, left out of important groups, and treated terribly.
(How accurate is this belief in our culture?)
They believe that if they are a member of the "Superior" group, then THEY are entitled to disrespect, rule over, and/or use those who they think are in the "Inferior" group.
They DO NOT KNOW that this concept is not "the way things are", because they were taught so early that it IS "the way things are". In their minds, the sun comes up in the morning, the sky is blue, water is wet, coffee is a drink, grass is green, and people are either Superior, or Inferior.
In the person's mind, every human goes into a category. Every person is classified with a "value", in basically the same way objects are classified. You (and they) are placed either in the "valued" group, or in the "non-valued" group.
Only those whom the person has placed in the "valued" group will be treated with normal, equal, or above average respect, courtesy, attention and integrity; listened to, or believed. In fact, those who have been placed in the "valued" group will often be given much, much more credence, recognition, credit and respect than they have actually earned. Their obvious mistakes or even blatant violations of laws, rules, and respect toward others are likely to be excused, covered up, or rationalized. (The reason any of this exists in the culture at large is because of the very large number of people who were raised to think this way, usually by those who were also raised to think this way, and so on. It doesn't require an entire family to raise a child this way, only a few poignant adults at a few poignant periods in the child's development).
Those who the person has categorized in the "non-valued" or "inferior" group will be treated as a lesser and lower-status being at all times, in all things. They will be interrupted when they speak, even "shushed", they will be "disciplined" like a child, they will be ASSUMED to have less knowledge, experience, or understanding, they will be assumed to be less capable and less able to learn. It does not matter what the person does, anything and everything that they do or say will be doubted, ignored, argued with, or deemed "unnecessary" and "unimportant".
It can be hard to imagine it from a different point of view, but it's important to understand since it's really the way so many people are raised.
We will and do come across "Superior/Inferior" minded people all the time. We will have to go to school with them and work with them. They're at the grocery store, the electronics store, and the hardware store, both as customers and as employees. They're probably at the doctor's office, the hospital, government offices, recreational facilities, and in your child's elementary school. They play and coach sports, they are dance class and yoga students and teachers, they're at the gym, they might be in the Police Department, they may be running local businesses and politics.
To put it into perspective:
The Superiority/Inferiority-minded person will categorize every person he or she comes across, based on certain superficial key traits that they learned during childhood. So a person applying for the Front Desk position at a Doctor's office who is Superiority/Inferiority minded is already categorizing the rest of the staff as "above" or "below", before they even get the job, and that includes the ENTIRE staff. The person may place the Doctors themselves in the "Superior" category at first based on their titles, but then again they may not. If the person uses "Race" as an assessment tool, then that will supersede the Doctor's degree. So if the person sees dark-skinned people as Superior, then he or she will place the dark-skinned Doctor in the Superior category. If he or she sees light-skinned people as Inferior, then he or she will place the light-skinned Doctor in the Inferior category.
Whatever the person uses as "assessment tools" supersede everything else. A person they've categorized as "Inferior" could save their life, their children's lives, and find a cure for world hunger, and they would STILL classify them as "Innately Inferior", perhaps with an 'asterisk' (*Inferior but above other Inferiors).
If they use gender as an assessment tool, then ALL PEOPLE of one sex will be placed in the Superior category, and ALL PEOPLE of the other sex will be placed in the Inferior category. After the initial categorizing, they may "reassess" an individual, but it's usually a change from "Superior" to "Inferior", not the other way.
Other common keys for assessment can be age, height, appearance of physical strength, vocal tone, accent, mannerisms, hair, clothing, or subjective physical attraction. Anything may be used, however, keys are limited only to the person's imagination.
~Those who are in "Superiority/Inferiority" mindset usually don't know the difference between objective fact and subjective opinion, because they were not taught the difference, so when they find a person to be attractive, they believe that EVERYONE has the same opinion of the person's appearance, including the person themselves. They believe most or all of their subjective opinions to represent objective reality. "Vanilla is better than chocolate" or vice versa. This cognitive gap plays a rather large role in their thinking process. Whether it's nature or nurture remains unsolved, but it appears that it's directly encouraged at a young age instead of guided away from, regardless of its origin.
Watch the way people interact with others to see if, and how, they classify people. Sometimes we might do it ourselves and not realize it, since we were most likely raised alongside those who were being taught this way. It can even occur within the same family, under the same roof.
They are taught to believe that any person can ONLY BE one or the other.
So they live life trying to make sure they are accepted in the "Superior" group. They judge all others to be either in the "Superior" group OR the "Inferior" group.
To them, if they are not seen as a member of the "Superior" group, then they will be considered "Inferior", and therefore tossed aside, left out of important groups, and treated terribly.
(How accurate is this belief in our culture?)
They believe that if they are a member of the "Superior" group, then THEY are entitled to disrespect, rule over, and/or use those who they think are in the "Inferior" group.
They DO NOT KNOW that this concept is not "the way things are", because they were taught so early that it IS "the way things are". In their minds, the sun comes up in the morning, the sky is blue, water is wet, coffee is a drink, grass is green, and people are either Superior, or Inferior.
In the person's mind, every human goes into a category. Every person is classified with a "value", in basically the same way objects are classified. You (and they) are placed either in the "valued" group, or in the "non-valued" group.
Only those whom the person has placed in the "valued" group will be treated with normal, equal, or above average respect, courtesy, attention and integrity; listened to, or believed. In fact, those who have been placed in the "valued" group will often be given much, much more credence, recognition, credit and respect than they have actually earned. Their obvious mistakes or even blatant violations of laws, rules, and respect toward others are likely to be excused, covered up, or rationalized. (The reason any of this exists in the culture at large is because of the very large number of people who were raised to think this way, usually by those who were also raised to think this way, and so on. It doesn't require an entire family to raise a child this way, only a few poignant adults at a few poignant periods in the child's development).
Those who the person has categorized in the "non-valued" or "inferior" group will be treated as a lesser and lower-status being at all times, in all things. They will be interrupted when they speak, even "shushed", they will be "disciplined" like a child, they will be ASSUMED to have less knowledge, experience, or understanding, they will be assumed to be less capable and less able to learn. It does not matter what the person does, anything and everything that they do or say will be doubted, ignored, argued with, or deemed "unnecessary" and "unimportant".
It can be hard to imagine it from a different point of view, but it's important to understand since it's really the way so many people are raised.
We will and do come across "Superior/Inferior" minded people all the time. We will have to go to school with them and work with them. They're at the grocery store, the electronics store, and the hardware store, both as customers and as employees. They're probably at the doctor's office, the hospital, government offices, recreational facilities, and in your child's elementary school. They play and coach sports, they are dance class and yoga students and teachers, they're at the gym, they might be in the Police Department, they may be running local businesses and politics.
To put it into perspective:
The Superiority/Inferiority-minded person will categorize every person he or she comes across, based on certain superficial key traits that they learned during childhood. So a person applying for the Front Desk position at a Doctor's office who is Superiority/Inferiority minded is already categorizing the rest of the staff as "above" or "below", before they even get the job, and that includes the ENTIRE staff. The person may place the Doctors themselves in the "Superior" category at first based on their titles, but then again they may not. If the person uses "Race" as an assessment tool, then that will supersede the Doctor's degree. So if the person sees dark-skinned people as Superior, then he or she will place the dark-skinned Doctor in the Superior category. If he or she sees light-skinned people as Inferior, then he or she will place the light-skinned Doctor in the Inferior category.
Whatever the person uses as "assessment tools" supersede everything else. A person they've categorized as "Inferior" could save their life, their children's lives, and find a cure for world hunger, and they would STILL classify them as "Innately Inferior", perhaps with an 'asterisk' (*Inferior but above other Inferiors).
If they use gender as an assessment tool, then ALL PEOPLE of one sex will be placed in the Superior category, and ALL PEOPLE of the other sex will be placed in the Inferior category. After the initial categorizing, they may "reassess" an individual, but it's usually a change from "Superior" to "Inferior", not the other way.
Other common keys for assessment can be age, height, appearance of physical strength, vocal tone, accent, mannerisms, hair, clothing, or subjective physical attraction. Anything may be used, however, keys are limited only to the person's imagination.
~Those who are in "Superiority/Inferiority" mindset usually don't know the difference between objective fact and subjective opinion, because they were not taught the difference, so when they find a person to be attractive, they believe that EVERYONE has the same opinion of the person's appearance, including the person themselves. They believe most or all of their subjective opinions to represent objective reality. "Vanilla is better than chocolate" or vice versa. This cognitive gap plays a rather large role in their thinking process. Whether it's nature or nurture remains unsolved, but it appears that it's directly encouraged at a young age instead of guided away from, regardless of its origin.
Watch the way people interact with others to see if, and how, they classify people. Sometimes we might do it ourselves and not realize it, since we were most likely raised alongside those who were being taught this way. It can even occur within the same family, under the same roof.
