Let me elaborate: Do you know someone with more money than you? More success? Better looks? More athletic ability? More than likely, you do, and not surprisingly, you probably get treated differently. Sometimes, it's not in a bad way, and sometimes, it is. Unfortunately, people in society treat those who are "lesser than" differently than those above them. This can be due to race, gender, or class. This involves a lot of history that's still happening today.
A wealthy family could see a black, homeless person while walking down the street, and probably wouldn't spare a dime or even look them in the eye. A coach with a star athlete probably wouldn't spend as much time on other athletes because they're not "worth the time and effort." A girl with brown hair who's little overweight won't get treated the same as the beachy bombshell blonde sitting three feet away (and vice versa, for men). A boss treats an assistant like they're not worth anything in the workplace because of their different positions or different education status.
This societal concept that we've created is absolutely RIDICULOUS — but we've deemed it "normal".
Functionalists (people who focus on the macro-level of social structure) believe that we need this concept to have a functional society.
The way we see others with more or less power than us depends on the level of threat that they present themselves with. What makes them superior? Better education? Money? Will it stay that way forever? Is it because she has better shoes than you that she can treat you like a piece of s***? The spectrum of mistreatment is very wide. It goes from something as little as clothing to something much bigger, like gender, race, or class.
Everybody is different. That's a fact.
We all have different backgrounds, different journeys, different motivations/goals, and different outcomes. You shouldn't judge or treat others with disrespect just because they're different from you. End of story.
Unfortunately, I don't think this problem will go away soon. But, we can dream, right?
