Prejudice (An Exercise)


Kimmy
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I am of the belief that most everyone is prejudiced, unless you have a disease like Williams Syndrome, and that some prejudices are simply more acceptable in our society than others.

I am prejudiced. I used to believe that I was not. When it was brought to my attention, I had so much guilt over it that I went out of my way to act positively toward those I had preconceived notions about. Then I realized that was just as bad because I was still treating them differently.

I am prejudiced. Are you? Ask yourself these questions. There is no need to answer in the thread. This is merely an exercise.

I find it difficult to take __________ seriously.

I have preconceived notions about __________.

I act differently (positively or negatively) toward __________.

I make assumptions about __________ because I dislike or disagree with certain beliefs they have.

Age

Children

Teenagers

The Elderly

Cultural

Rednecks/Hillbillies

People Who Speak “Ebonics” (Regardless of Race or Ethnicity)

People Who Immerse Themselves in Cultures that Are Not Their Own

Economic

Homeless People

People who Live in Ghettos

People who Live in Rich Neighborhoods

People who Live in Trailer Parks

Poor People

Rich People

Education

High School Dropouts

People with a College Degree

People with a GED instead of a High School Diploma

People with Poor Spelling/Grammar

Ethnic/Racial

Asian People (Eastern)

Asian People (Middle Eastern)

Black People

Bi-Racial People

Hispanic People

Italian People

Jewish People

Native American People

Polish People

White People

Physical

Attractive People

Deformed People

Disabled People

Obese People

Overweight People

Pale People

Short People

Skinny People

Tall People

Tan People

Ugly People

Political

Conservatives

Liberals

Libertarians

Moderates

Socialists

Religious

Agnostics/Atheists

Buddhists

Catholics

Christians

Jews

Satanists

Wiccans

Sex

Men

Hermaphrodites

Women

Sexuality

Bisexuals

Gays

Drag Queens

Lesbians

Polyamorous People

Transgender People

Miscellaneous

Blondes

Gamers

Geeks/Nerds

Other Prejudiced People (Racists, Sexists, etc.)

Quiet People

Someone I Dislike

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everyone takes issue at one point or another with certain individuals and/or groups

after identifying the who, its terribly important to consider the why

then there is how much space you're going to let that take up and whether you're going to keep your prejudices to yourself or shout them from the rooftops

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I have been prejudiced often for many different reasons. When I have had a second job driving taxi,

I would never pick up a young male wearing a winter coat in July.

When I had a part time job in a liquor store, I would never sell adult beverages to anyone wearing any type of mask.

When I was farming for my living I would never allow anyone to enter my barns unless I was with them. there are may types of prejudices some of them are even beneficial for example if I want to buy a piece of wooden furniture I will try to go the the nearest Amish group because I know I will get quality.

The lists of my prejudices could go on for hours and that is not always a bad thing.

There is one that scares me from jump street and that is when someone says "I'm from the government and I'm here to help".

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its terribly important to consider the why

Exactly!!!

However, sometimes there are very good reasons and justification to be prejudice, for which there is no need to apologize!

then there is how much space you're going to let that take up

My wife makes this point to me all the time. I love her for it.

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Prejudice is an accumulation of experience filtered through intelligence. We make all use this mental mechanism to process situations based on incomplete information. It works or does not based on our intelligence and previous experience. We use it all the time. For instance when we play catch. We do not bother to actually calculate how to throw or catch the ball. We just make a guest based on past experience.

As far as the why of things, it is irrelevant unless you seek to change people, which I do not. Although understanding motivations is important if you seek to master social situations. It is good to understand others buttons and strings, not for their sake but for yours.

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Prejudice is an accumulation of experience filtered through intelligence. We make all use this mental mechanism to process situations based on incomplete information. It works or does not based on our intelligence and previous experience. We use it all the time. For instance when we play catch. We do not bother to actually calculate how to throw or catch the ball. We just make a guest based on past experience.

As far as the why of things, it is irrelevant unless you seek to change people, which I do not. Although understanding motivations is important if you seek to master social situations. It is good to understand others buttons and strings, not for their sake but for yours.

its quite relevent if you seek to gain understanding, most are not foolish enough to think they can change other people. if you are absolutely certain that your prejudices are justified, carry on, but don't forget you are viewing it through a prism of only your experiences, justified, you think so?

consider - christians are ..., gun owners are..., asians are.. white people are...redheads are...deadheads are... there may be many similarities and agreement among the group but to say absolutly is to show a dangerous ignorance and narrowness of mind.

Edited by grateful
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its quite relevent if you seek to gain understanding, most are not foolish enough to think they can change other people. if you are absolutely certain that your prejudices are justified, carry on, but don't forget you are viewing it through a prism of only your experiences, justified, you think so?

consider - christians are ..., gun owners are..., asians are.. white people are...redheads are...deadheads are... there may be many similarities and agreement among the group but to say absolutly is to show a dangerous ignorance and narrowness of mind.

All things are viewed thru the prism of our experiences, justified or not.

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its quite relevent if you seek to gain understanding, most are not foolish enough to think they can change other people. if you are absolutely certain that your prejudices are justified, carry on, but don't forget you are viewing it through a prism of only your experiences, justified, you think so?

consider - christians are ..., gun owners are..., asians are.. white people are...redheads are...deadheads are... there may be many similarities and agreement among the group but to say absolutly is to show a dangerous ignorance and narrowness of mind.

Justification is irrelevant. Utility and functionality are more important. If it helps to more reliably predict behavior then it is useful.

And I never said that any level of knowledge is enough to stop gathering information. The collection and processing of information is never complete and never ceases.

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utility and functionality of prejudices? huh

I was speaking to self awareness, not justification .. understanding oneself and how we come by these prejudices is the thing. when I used the term justified it was to illustrate a conversation with oneself

I simply feel that blanket generalizations and preconceived notions about individuals or groups are usually misguided at best, it works for me

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