On the acceptance of difference

Some societies are more accepting of the "different" among them, than others. One of the poorest, in this respect, seems to be Russia.

A couple of days ago, I bumped into a Russian friend who is married to a Singaporean. She told me of many things, but what struck me were her reasons for leaving Russia. She is Caucasian, so these reasons may not have applied to her...but that she felt uncomfortable about the situation was clear. In Russia, you are punished if you are different. This punishment begins at bullying and ends at murder. If, for instance, you are smart, at school, you will be bullied, in Russia, on a daily basis, simply for being different in this respect. If you are Asian, you might very well be killed.

My friend told me of one case she knew of, in Russia, in which a Korean family, consisting of a mother, father and ten year old daughter, were set upon by Russians, and beaten to death. Even the ten year old girl was killed. The reason for their murder was just that they were Asian.

Now, clearly, Russia is an extreme example. This tendency, of Russians, to pick on the outsiders in their midst, can only weaken the country and lead to a diminished nation. Russia is a country that cannot benefit from the input of non-Caucasian foreigners, for instance...it would simply be too dangerous for such people to consider living there. Thus, the Russian talent pool is narrowed and impoverished - and the whole of Russia suffers from it.

However, there are other countries, in which outsiders are not accepted. To some degree most countries are guilty of this, though perhaps with a less extreme response than the Russian one. In all cases, the country is weakened by its refusal to accept diversity: with a variety of different people of different backgrounds, come different capabilities and that can only be to the good of a nation.

My hope is that the Russians mature and come to accept outsiders in their midst - and that other countries with similar attitudes also grow up a bit. It does no-one any good, to pick on anyone. Anywhere in which any group of people suffers from any kind of discrimination is a place that is weaker than it could be.

There is no harm in being aware of difference - and perhaps even intrigued by it - but we must most certainly fight against any intolerance of difference, of whatever kind. Accept the different...you will be doing your town, city, country, a lot of good by doing so.

In the meantime, however, if you are Asian, I would recommend steering clear of Russia, for the time being.

(If you would like to learn more of Ainan Celeste Cawley, a scientific child prodigy, aged eight years and seven months, or his gifted brothers, Fintan, five years exactly, and Tiarnan, twenty-eight months, please go to:http://scientific-child-prodigy.blogspot.com/2006/10/scientific-child-prodigy-guide.html I also write of gifted education, IQ, intelligence, the Irish, the Malays, Singapore, College, University, Chemistry, Science, genetics, left-handedness, precocity, child prodigy, child genius, baby genius, adult genius, savant, wunderkind, wonderkind, genio, гений ребенок prodigy, genie, μεγαλοφυία θαύμα παιδιών, bambino, kind.

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