Humankind

The official definition of humankind is this: “Human beings considered collectively (used as a neutral alternative to “mankind”).” It seems so basic, at first, and I suppose, if you consider it in the most general sense, it is. A group of people. But to me, it’s a little more than that. It’s people who don’t know how to treat others. People meant to take care of the earth and each other but do things like put Indigenous children in residential schools and assume that a person is inherently bad because of the colour of their skin or how they identify as a person. People who shame others for the way they look, for not fitting into the unfair beauty standard. People who are so selfish as to aggressively protest in front of schools and hospitals, not pausing for a moment to consider the consequences and the way it will affect others.

At the same time, however, humankind is passionate and fights for the rights of those who can’t stand up for themselves. Humankind has people who will sacrifice their lives for others and who want to save the environment that we’ve destroyed. There are people who do seemingly small things like donating money to an organization that can change someone’s life.

There is no single definition of humankind. It could be anything, negative or positive, and almost entirely based on a person’s experiences and opinions. The definition listed at the top is, in fact, the only definition that truly encompasses the entirety of opinions and facts. People can and will elaborate, as I have done, but overall, “Humans considered collectively” is the basic definition of humankind.

 
Society

Society is when people form large groups or communities, usually those living in the same space or area. They share certain values or core beliefs, but don’t necessarily agree on everything. Society will often shut out those who are different or force someone to fit into societal norms. It decides how people should act, what they should do, etc. A lot of time, the word “society” is used to mean people in general, which I think also applies, as long as the fact that there are many different societies is remembered.

Society is often focused on things like having money, being physically attractive, or being successful. The values the people have—the ones that they share and bring them together—are generally very superficial. However, in Canada at least, we value other things as well. Democracy, community, equality. And we have a government to keep us in check, making sure we don’t violate people’s rights and that we make an effort to right our wrongs. The problem with government, though, is sometimes the wrong people are put in power. Sometimes, people who don’t care about the environment or equality or justice will allow society to grow in its negative values. 

In my definition of humankind, I mentioned Indigenous children being put in residential schools. This happened because society thought it was right. Carding and unnecessary harassment by police? Society made BIPOC people into “less than” and decided that they were dangerous and simultaneously stupid, forcing them to fit into harmful stereotypes that has had a huge impact on the way people of colour live. In a good society, we would all be fighting for equality. Men would not be above all other genders. People wouldn’t fight and bring each other down. Countries would help each other But the current way we are living is not good enough. Society needs to be better or we are all jumping into time of chaos, unprepared to witness the full extent of the damage we have done.