Prejudice: An opinion, favorable or unfavorable ( more often the latter), formed without a fair examination of the facts; bias, v.t. to bias, to influence, to injure.
We hear the word prejudice and we automatically assume race is involved... But this is not necessarily the case. Prejudice can be about many things...Such as a persons education or lack their of.. Are they rich or poor..Are they fat or thin..Are they old or young...Male or female, gay or straight? We have literally hundreds of prejudices whether we want to see them as that or not..
Lately some of my fellow bloggers have posted some really good posts regarding this issue...Without trying to wear out an already discussed topic..It has provoked me to start thinking about what makes a prejudice and why we feel this way.
One blogger...Jenn, from her blog Jenius...Says in the last line of her post..."Racism isn't born its taught"..
The more I thought about this the more I knew she was completely right. But how do we get through life with out some sort of prejudices? We are taught not only by our parents and families, but also through our peers. We learn from our surroundings...And we form views based on our experiences in life. Most of us are taught to try and be considerate of others differences no matter what those differences happen to be...
But I still think no matter how hard we try...We still deep with in us hold onto some prejudices. I'm not sure there is a way to be completely free of them no matter how open minded or how tolerant we are..
The question is..If we could do this...Should we? Should we be tolerant of those groups that as individuals we find morally offensive to us. Such as those who advocate hate? Should we be tolerant of those who instill fear in us of another group because they are different in thoughts, words and deeds? Or are these not real prejudices because we are making opinions based not in bias but informed views?
What do you think?
10 comments:
Jenn is completely right with her statement!
I had a problem with a prejudice some hours ago. I had a comment written into a blog and was attacked because I am a German. Another person wrote something to me, here is a short part: "OH GOD! Nazis are attacking!"
Because we had Nazis between 1933 and 1945 in Germany, I have never met my grandparents...you now that Jen.
I hate prejudices...
Perhaps I write tomorrow more to your good post.
Stephan
Germany lost a lot of very good and kind people during that time in its history.
Sterotyping someone because of the way they look or the place they come from is one of the worst prejudices..People can be dumbasses Stephan Im so sorry.
Jef
I think this is true... the kinds of prejudices we have or display are the ones that guide our morality and value systems.
I am not only female, but a blonde female, who is young,who lives in the south. I live in a place where the rest of the world has this sterotypical view of what they think I am, as a person and as a southerner. But I happen to know for a fact, that most of what someone might think I am..is a false idea when compared to the reality of who I am.
AngelDevoid_1999
Because most people are satisfied with the status quo..They do not wish to make waves or accept radical changes. The are content to go on as long as it doesnt touch them directly.
I think someone newly into politics probably starts off with all kinds of I want to change the world ideas, then gets into office and finds out that if you want to do business...You have to play ball with the rules the other kids use. Then begins the compromise. I will back off of this, if you will do that.
Nothing is ever just simple..black and white...This is wrong or this is right. Its always someone wanting to make shades of gray.
Hulabelly
I have thought about this too. I think some people fear what they dont understand..If they are intolerant of a certain group, maybe its out of ignorance of who or what that group truly is.
Just as in the definition...They form an opinion with out a fair examimation of the facts.
But some groups...I cant justify in my own mind tolerating them. They do nothing but negitive...they instill fear and foster hate. If this makes me prejudice or intolerant of them..SO BE IT. I can cut someone some slack for ignorance as long as its not a way of life.
Jef
Adrian sent me this song a while back and its something we used to listen to while talking on line. So its kind of special to me. Even though its sort of sad..I like it.
About being taught prejudice - I ask anyone who says "I do this because my mother or father taught me to do it" or "its the way my parents raised me"
Are you not an adult capable of cognative reasoning?
I do believe that a good deal of our personalities as adults is based on what our parents taught us. But, I believe it is not a valid exuse to blame one's prejudices on his or her parents. Yes they taught us right and wrong, but they also raised us to be individuals.
I'll say this, there are two things that are needed to be an adult capable of complete moral reasoning:
One, the person must see him or herself as a being that is a completely seperate entety from society but dependant on society for life.
And two, the person must be willing to challange what was taught by his or her parents. After all, it is always possible that the person's parents never were able to judge morals for themselves but blindly accepted the morals of their parents.
illimitable voices
I agree with you. I believe when we become adults we become responsible for our lives and actions. We can not blame our parents or our childhood or the people around us for our behavior. At that point it becomes our choice.
However I think that many times instead of questioning how we were raised. We conform. Most people have a need to be accepted and fit in..So it is easier to go along with the way their parents raised them or the groups they grew up around. It takes someone with strong will and character to be an indivudual. Lets face it..its easier to go with the flow than against the tide.
(sadly)
Jen,
A prejudiced mind we all have-- i think we have pre-concieved notions about something or the other. To be free of all prejudices and be spontaneous to the moment--Mmmm... it could be a child's mind or that of an enlightened soul. Living in today's world and not being corrupted by all the rubbish that comes our way is very tough.
Yet we, the ordinary people can see reason through the mass of all our prejudices, and make an effort to be non-judgemental. Can't we?
vishwa
You have a good point...When we are very small children..we are open to everything..we are innocent in our thinking. Its not until we reach the school age...that we start to change in the way we deal with others...Some of this is from our familys influence and some of it is from our peers...
Think about it...a lot of that innocence is lost around that time...You find out about Santa Claus...you hear about sex, and you are under peer presure to fit in..and this usually means following along with what ever group you are with at the time.
Its not always easy to go against the group..it takes someone of strong character to do so.
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