Rankism is what people who take themselves for “somebodies” do to those they mistake for “nobodies.” Whether directed at an individual or a group, rankism aims to put targets in their place and keep them weak so they will do as they’re told and submit to being taken advantage of.
Somebodies and Nobodies: Understanding Rankism |
| By: robertwfuller Thursday August 20, 2009 1:56 pm |
2 Comments
Rankism: The Elephant in Professor Gates’s House…and Maybe Ours, Too |
| By: robertwfuller Thursday July 30, 2009 2:36 pm |
Rankism is a general term for the behavior of putting one another down. For example, racism is a subspecies of rankism, as leukemia is a subspecies of cancer. Other subspecies of rankism include the malignacies of sexism, homophobia, ageism, ableism, and anti-Semitism. The umbrella concept — rankism — can be of use in identity politics and for clarifying incidents like the Gates Affair.
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