Reply To: Prejudice and Discrimination

[Anonymous]

G’day!
In my opinion it’s hard to enumerate a clear source of prejudice. I understand that media, advertises, fear of differency etc. are spreading the seeds of prejudice which later expands into discrimination. But the bigger problem for me is in people’s minds. The fact that people let it affect their way of thinking and justify their harmful actions. What is the problem in my opinion is that people not always see harming others as a bad thing. Because even if we have some sort of prejudice it doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re going to discriminate others because they’re different. Being afraid is OK, thanks to that people can avoid being too open, or hurt in the process of socializing. But hurting someone and saying it’s OK just because he or she is different is not. The lack of empathy and the ease of hatred is a problem. Once people are more aware of the weight of their actions, most of prejudice – fueled actions would perish. If people would get to know others and let others get to know them, prejudice would just not be there. It would be exchanged for truth about that person. If the reality is bad for us (we don’t like it, whatever the reason), then let it be, but let it not affect how we see another – maybe a lot different inside, but similar outside – person. Because of that I think this is the main source of most prejudice. The lack of seeking truth. (I know I say it a lot, but if only folks were more into the truth and less into comfort, it would change a lot of things for better)
Prejudice is kind of a root of discrimination. It doesn’t necessarily mean that every prejudice will turn info discrimination at one point. Prejudice is what is in human’s head and discrimination is what that said human does. But of course, everyone have some prejudice at some point. But not everyone uses that prejudice to justify their discrimination.

I have witnessed a lot of discrimination based on things that doesn’t even match. Like religion and intelligence, sexual preference and morality, ancestry and greediness. Basically almost all sorts and forms (if we add up what i’ve seen in movies, than erase that “almost”). From what I’ve seen, there isn’t a single characteristic that is most discriminated. All get some hatred. But recently, as I am an APS student, I’ve come to see a lot discrimination for discriminating people. It sound a bit stupid, but let me explain. The best shield against prejudice and discrimination is truth (or reasonable doubt, some may say). But not all who struggle and fight against discrimination use that asset. Some do as it is portrayed in the comic. Just discriminate the people that discriminate them. For example LGBTQ and Catholics. I’ve often have had long talks against prejudice from religious people toward people with different sexual preferrence than they have (same thing reverse – people from both groups can be as stiff-necked as a donkey). But almost as often I met people who just were justifying their hatred and discrimination against religious or LGBTQ folks because they were discriminated by them. I say that discrimination is not a powerful tool against discrimination. It only adds fuel to the fire. And it gets harder for me to talk the truth out of a person if he or she was a subject of discrimination from the group he/she discriminates.