Quote:
Originally Posted by graciegirl
I think most people are far more complex in their beliefs than that.
Some of our prejudices are positive and somewhat accurate.
Some of our prejudices are mean spirited and narrow minded.
Sometimes we have to generalize in order to make some kinds of decisions.
We all have prejudices. But all people are worthy to be listened to and respected until they do something that hurts others on purpose or fail to take care of themselves and their family if they are able to.
Not all people are born with the same level of intelligence and you can call them stupid if you wish, but few people realize that most people are doing the best they can with the intelligence that they were born with and the experiences they have had. You can educate people and give the tools to help them, but you cannot make them innately smarter.
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Gracie I don't think this has anything to do with smart and I called no one stupid. A couple things. Prejudice is different than discrimination although they are often intertwined. Prejudice means you judge a situation before having facts on which to base that decision. You pre judge. If it is the way you intend to treat a fellow human it denies that other person their ability to present themselves to you and be judged on their actual merits. To say that a black person should not be allowed to marry a white person is to deny them their humanity, their equality, their most basic right to be treated fairly and decently. It is not just a harmless world view rather it is the world view that led to slavery and the KKK and the Jim Crow laws. All views are not due equal hearing and equal respect. The public forum is not equally open to those that claim the earth is round vs the earth is flat. It is the duty of citizens to shout down those who continue to deny that the earth is round and tell them their "belief" is wrong and not worthy of equal time and in fact worthy of derision. If I were to state that all disabled children should be killed I would hope you wouldn't comment that all views need to be respected until they are acted upon. I would hope you would scream about what an inherently evil thought that is and that a person who holds that view ought to keep it silent or be severely criticized by everyone in the room if such an evil thought is even spoken.
On the other hand, your desire not to hire those who dress in a way to which you object may be based on some evidence or knowledge in which case you have discriminated, or made a choice based on knowledge. Or it may be prejudice depending on the thoughtfulness and completeness of your evidence gathering. We use the phrase "you have discriminating taste" as a compliment not an insult. So there is nothing wrong with discrimination, it only becomes wrong if you discriminate on the basis of ones prejudice.
So if a person says to me " I don't believe blacks should be allowed to marry real humans " which is the substance of the denial of interracial marriage, that is an opinion that needs to be vigorously opposed and openly derided if our culture is to continue to make progress against bigotry.