Examples of rankism based on pseudo rankings include the illicit hierarchies maintained by racism, sexism, ageism, classism, ableism, and heterosexualism (or, homophobia)--in short, the familiar isms that plague societies and that, one by one, are being discredited and dismantled.

What can victims of rank abuse do to protect their dignity?Those abused on the basis of color unified against racism. Women targeted sexism and the elderly took aim at ageism. By analogy, "rankism" denotes abuses of power associated with rank. Once you have a name for it, you see it everywhere. More importantly, once you call it by name, everyone else will see it too, and perpetrators will find themselves on the defensive.

Good clip