[Bell Historians] chiming, was request for help

[John Camp]

At 20:35 on 22 July 2008, Carl S Zimmerman wrote:
> How does recognizing the existence of a very real difference
> constitute prejudice?  There is no judgment being passed on the basis
> of that difference, but rather a potentially useful bit of information.

Are you really saying that three blows for a man, two for a woman, and
one for a child didn't originally represent a valuation of their
respective status in the human hierarchy ?

I agree that we can get too serious about this and that traditions
should not be lightly abandoned, but we must also be aware of how and
why those traditions originated.  Yes - information was communicated,
but it was in a form which quite clearly valued women less than men.

Would three for a white man and two for a black man be OK?  That would
also convey information.

John Camp