Look deep within yourself-we are all guilty of bias and prejudice?

Question

Do you really think we are all the same beneath the skin? I'd like to think I would answer yes. My parents raised me that all persons are equal, and did not value one race over another-this is a deeply personal examination.....

Answer 1

Unfortunatley we are ALL biased, and it may or may not have anything to do with how our parents raised us.

I had a friend who lived in the "ghetto", and of course, like any middle-class girl, you hear horror stories. I went to visit her, and the more time I spent over there and got to know the people, the more I realized what kind of generalizations people in the news and on telivision had made that affected my judgement of the people who lived there.

After a few visits I felt safer there than I did in my own neighborhood, because there was so much more interaction between neighbors.

Judgements are a part of how the human mind categorizes things. It's how we experience our worldview. You ate some bad fruit and got sick (I had some mulberries from a pestecide-sprayed tree when I was young), and after a hospital stay I could not even bear to look at mulberries or any other type of berry that had a similar shape. It's how the human body and mind ensure survival--this experience was bad, so avoid other experiences which could be similar.

We gotta learn which judgements are detrimental to our life and society, and which ones are, in fact, beneficial.

Answer 2

You're right. We are all guilty of being biased in one way or another. We make judgments about people--in a sense, we profile when we shouldn't. But the difference between a "prejudiced" person and a "non-prejudiced" person is the dismissal of that judging.

A non-prejudiced person will personally acknowledge that his/her impression is based on visual cues--not interpersonal cues.

For instance, do all black people know how to sing, be athletic and have rhythm? Are all Asians geniuses? Are all Caucasians born with heightened intelligence? These are all preconcieved notions that have been instilled in our (American) culture, and many people treat one race or another by these notions. It's not fair, but it happens.

Do I look at some people and make a judgement? All the time. The trick is to recognize that I don't know that particular person, so I shouldn't assume that he/she will act or be a certain way until I get to know them personally.

Answer 3

There is only one race. It's called the human race.

Answer 4

Of course. Our hearts, lungs, and liver are all the same.

Answer 5

I think everyone might have a tinge of ethnocentricity in them...I think it might only be natural.

Answer 6

All girls are pink on the inside.