Self-Sorting: A Sordid Story of Sorts

Surely to the surprise of many an angst ridden college student it appears the United States is not the only country in the world where people are sometimes discriminated against because they are different.

Across Mexico giganté street rumbles are brewing and they're not over turf, drugs, or even soccer. No, the coming clash is about music. Specifically the "Metalheads", "Punks", "Rockabillies" and the "Gangsters" want to run the "Emo" kids out of town (info on "Emo"). One particular city saw over a thousand people go on an Emo beating spree while riot police had to be called in.

Aside from the obvious pointlessness of the violence, I find this worth commenting on because I often get the impression that people think harmony, togetherness, and general uniformity among people is the natural order of things. When our workplaces, college campuses, etc. don't look like we imagine them because one gender is better represented in a certain field or different ethnic groups have different test scores there's no shortage of people clamoring for a "solution".

Good luck. People have been separating themselves for as long as we've been around and for as many reasons as there are stars. Not only is every person different, but every little difference leads to different prospects. Thomas Sowell pointed out way back in 1984 that "A whole industry exists to determine the statistical profile of people who view given television programs..". Given that, we shouldn't be surprised when distinction like race, gender, or even musical preference occasionally put people at odds.