Do you have prejudices that you know about? What are they and why do they remain prejudices?

Question

As a student I was taught that we are all prejudice. Not wanting to jump to conclusions about this I observed my own behaviour. After contemplation I believe that I have NO prejudices.

I understand we can carry prejudices that we don't know about and show that prejudice against others but having realised it shouldn't the prejudice disappear? If for example, you realised you were prejudice to women/men how could you carry on discriminating against them knowing you were being irrational. If you carried on discriminating it would be because you justified that men/women were not smart or whatever your reasons? By justifying it you no longer believe that you are prejudice.

Answer 1

I am prejudice against people who act like they are better than other people.

Answer 2

Once bitten twice shy.

Life experiences are not always pleasant. I am prejudiced regarding poison ivy due to many long weeks of scratching. I do not allow crackheads to babysit my children. I do not leave my wallet in an unlocked car. Most car salespeople lie in order for you to give them your money. Some cashiers try to short change you. Cats tend to sh*t where they want to and dogs like to chew up shoes. Garbage attracts flies.
I could go on, but by now I think you see my point. A prejudice does not just go away because you realize you are being prejudice when the prejudice is based on experience.

The only people who truly hold no prejudices are isolationists who have not experienced much of the "business" end of human interaction. Or they are in denial of what they have experienced, or are very idealistic with their trust.
If one finds themselves prejudiced about a race, group or profession due to reputation and not by personal experience then I can understand your point, but one is only young and sheltered for a relatively short period of time.
Sometimes we learn many unpleasant realities from peers first before we find out they were not deceiving us. Some folks get lucky and have a happy existence that is void of any negative stereotypical prejudice epiphanies. Sadly, they are far and few between, and most folks find out that there is a little truth behind every rumour.

If a preconcieved notion about a group or race proves to be false, then a prejudice is proved not to be all inclusive. I'm sure that there really are some not so smart men and women in the world.

Our hunter/gatherer brain program begat rational thought over eons. We are still evolving, granted, but if a dumb person causes you a loss you catagorize them in the "bad" file. If another causes you gain they go into the "some are bad file". If you have no interaction with dumb people and all you know about them was what someone who suffered a loss at their expense has told you then you catagorize them as "bad" also, but you are really ignorant of what a dumb person is really like.

Hense, most prejuduce is a result of ignorance. Non-ignorant, or experienced prejudice, is the product of rational thought.

One last thing.....Granny tells you not to play with snakes 'cause they bite. You found out she was right. Now you KNOW snakes bite. Now Granny is no longer irrational and your prejudice is justified. Granted, some snakes don't bite, and some bites are not that bad, but some can be deadly. But, in general, snakes bite and they hurt.

Answer 3

You are wrong to think you have no prejudices: you could not function as a human being without prejudice. That is not to say that they are "good" or "bad". A prejudice is when you make or accept a judgment or choice BEFORE all the relevant information is available. You would never know whether to trust a person as a friend or mate without prejudice. You would never be able to make a decision about whether it is safe to walk in a particular area at night without prejudice. A prejudice is not necessarily bad, even if it goes beyond reason, since you could not possibly know enouch about all possiblities. Without prejudice you would be stuck, unable to make decisions about both superficial and important issues. You would be helpless to determine how you should vote; at a loss to know whether yoooou should trust a lawyer; incapable of deciding which college will give you the "best" education. (What is "best"? Your idea of "best" is tainted with prejudice!).
The most sensitivie and sensible course of action you can take is to weigh each prejudice as it emerges, and test whether (and how) it may hurt others, and take steps to minimize that.
It seems naive -- and self-serving -- to hear you declare that after a bit of contemplation you are sure you are free of prejudice! Perhaps you are thinking too narrowly -- that prejudice is just racial hatred. Even if this were so I strongly suspect that you are sooo naif!

Answer 4

Yeah, you know what? I think the same way you do. I don't think I have any prejudices but... of course, I do and so do you.

Here's the thing. It doesn't have to be big or bad or mean or all three.

Like, I don't like the color green. Most of the time I cringe away from that color. Is that prejudice or what? Stupid green.

But big things like blacks or asians or some sort of common mass prejudice, not really. Not to men nor women in particular either. .

Even if you justify something though, you are still being prejudiced because you still are against that one something. No?

Answer 5

I agree that prejudice is founded on ignorance and that awareness of it can be the beginning of dispelling it but we are not all-knowing and attaining knowledge takes time so perhaps prejudices fade gradually rather than with a shock of enlightenment.

What if I said I was prejudiced against prejudiced people?