Goal of Discrimination | Michael Teachings

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The Goal of Discrimination

+ Sophistication
– Rejection

2% of the
population

Expression

BY PHILLIP WITTMEYER

The Goal of Discrimination (Rejection) is an aspect of the analysis process — the Goal is to analyze things, to take things apart. The purpose of a person with this Goal is to make one thing distinct from another. He likes to find contrast in things. He emphasizes differences rather than similarities. Instead of seeing how one thing is like another, he sees what is unlike. The Goal of Discrimination is to the personality as the immune system is to the body: the immune system keeps the body free of foreign organisms, and the Goal of Discrimination keeps the person free of adulteration and impurities. It works to exclude things, rather than include things. People with this Goal are very selective in what they accept. They are "choosy" — like picking over the fruit and vegetables at the grocery store. Each piece is examined carefully for blemishes, freshness, color, texture, and so on — every characteristic is considered. Only the best of the available items is selected. People with this Goal act this way when they "shop" in the other "markets" of life.

In an argument — a favorite exercise for people with this Goal — they will pick apart every word of their contender, to make sure the meaning is precise. No word is allowed to be ambiguous, nor to overlap the meaning of any other word. Two people with this Goal when they get together love to criticize everything under the sun. This Goal can be put to good use as a professional critic, whether of art, music, writing, or theater. As such, they are valuable in finding things that can be improved in the next production.

The Positive Pole of this Goal is called "+Sophistication". Let me hasten to say that the Discrimination goal has nothing to do with racial, sexual, religious, or other such discriminations. The meaning is that the person in the positive pole of this goal has a keen sense of discernment. He notices subtle differences and emphasizes them in his quest for contrast. He wants things to be pure, untainted, and unadulterated. He sees himself as special — different from others and outstanding in his own unique ways. He enjoys being distinctive and he wants to make fine distinctions. Consequently, he is good at classifying things into separate categories. His critical faculties are very refined — he enjoys giving constructive criticism. In its highest expression, this Goal manifests in a person as a sophisticated connoisseur, someone who seeks only the best things in life. Such a person is said to have "taste" and "refinement". He is very scrupulous in matters of personal integrity, and seeks this in whatever he encounters in his world. Preference is for "exclusive" things, the choicest of the lot.

The Negative Pole of this Goal is called "-Prejudice" .This might indeed have something to do with racial, sexual, or religious bigotry, but it is much broader than that in its scope. A person in this Pole has an automatic dislike of something — or everything. He rejects without examination or fair trial. He seems displeased all the time. He is picky, implacable, sharp tongued, and verbally abusive. He is quick to condemn, to render some adverse judgment. His criticism is destructive rather than constructive. He readily picks out the negative traits of whatever he beholds. One interesting point about a person in this Pole is that he is attracted to the very things he despises. He involves himself in the very things he condemns. There is a game going on here — the payoff is that he finds the rejection he seeks and his Goal is fulfilled, albeit in this distorted and perverse form. In its most extreme manifestation, this Pole appears as pure hatred.

People with this Goal in the Negative Pole like to criticize things. A female would be called "bitchy" and a male would be called "grouchy". They complain about anything that does not meet their standards of integrity and purity. It is very difficult to please them. It is either too big or too small, too fast or too slow, too high or too low, too this or too that . . . ad infinitum. Things are almost never just right. In the extreme form, in the Negative Pole, this person is a "hairsplitter". Often one can find a frown on his face — he is a "sourpuss". He rarely tries to be nice — in fact, "nice" is sickening to him. He may go out of his way to be offensive and unpleasant. He will nit pick something to death if he has to in order to get to the ultimate refinement.

Recall that the Negative Poles arise from fear. In this case it is fear of contamination or pollution by combining with something alien or foreign. In the obvious example of racial prejudice, the goal is to keep the races separate. Recall that one way to get out of the Negative Pole is to use the "hands across" method: contemplate and apply the Complementary Goal, in this case Acceptance, particularly its Positive Pole of +Unification. Try to see everything in its totality, then come to like and appreciate it as it is.

This Goal is the Complement of the Goal of Acceptance. Whereas people in Acceptance prefer to be agreeable and adaptive, people in Rejection prefer to be disagreeable, and are often unwilling to adapt themselves to others or to their circumstances. They rarely care whether people like them or not. In fact, it often occurs that people in Discrimination unconsciously seek out situations where they will be disliked. People with this Goal actually see themselves as being too accepting, and they try to avoid this by being more discriminating. Their idea of love is to be totally "honest". They can in fact be brutally honest — telling things "exactly as they are", and "letting the chips fall where they may". This can at times appear as tactlessness and lack of finesse. Rarely will such people whitewash anything. Since they care little that others like them, they do not fear criticism. They may in fact feed on it. They do not mind being nonconformists, or even repulsive. They like a good argument. They have no great desire to get along or go along with others. They prefer to maintain their individual identity than to be in harmony with others.

The Discrimination Goal is the Counterpart of the Caution Mode. That is, the Rejection Goal seeks what the Caution Mode already has. People in Caution are careful what they do. They are deliberate and meticulous in their behavior. People in Rejection want to be careful and picky so as to avoid accepting something they may later find to be not truly suited to them. The primary difference between the two is that a person in Rejection is critical toward things outside himself, whereas a person in Caution is critical toward his own behavior.

The Rejection Goal is the Opposite of the Power Mode. Whereas a person in Power assumes that others are much like himself and that others will become more like him, a person in Discrimination wants to be as different from others as he can be, and yet remain true to himself. He wants to be truly himself, and he does not expect others to approach him, appease him, or become more like him.

This is not a "popular" Goal — in two senses of this word. First of all, it is difficult to like a person who has this Goal, since they often do things, seemingly deliberately, to provoke others to reject them. This makes them unpopular with other people. Few choose to be around a person who gripes and complains a lot. (It is not easy for the person who has it to deal with it in himself either, for that matter.) Secondly, this Goal is unpopular in the sense that few people have this Trait in their Array — somewhat less than ten percent by my count.

If a person with this Goal would be wise, he would be circumspect about his pickiness. He would be careful that his criticisms are valid. All of the Goals have their value, and the value of this particular one lies in total honesty and integrity: quest for the unique thing which totally and absolutely excludes all impurity.

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Phil Wittmeyer is a longtime Michael student and scholar of the teachings. He can be reached at: wittmeyer@hotmail.com