My memories of prejudice are not ones in which I experienced the act personally, however I did witness the act of prejudice occurring. It is very unfortunate when you witness these acts because in such a diverse world, you wish that people would be more accepting of others. This happened when I was dating a person of a different race. Seeing someone I cared about go through the experience and be judged on exterior appearances was difficult. The experience diminished equity because it made me aware that people can be cruel and think they are better than others for no particular good reason. Because someone is different is not a legitimate reason to be biased and verbalize prejudices.
The feelings I experienced were of disgust and confusion. I find it difficult to believe that people can be so socially incompetent that they do not understand the affects their decision can have on other people. Regardless of what form the prejudice comes, if it is intentional it is something I view as ignorance. I believe in today's society that there are resources available to educate oneself on bias, prejudice, and oppression. I understand that people unconsciously discriminate, however self-reflection is a great way to make oneself aware of biases that may be occurring. In order to make this situation into an opportunity for greater equity it would need for that person to learn they had affected not just one persons, but two people's lives, because of their verbal discrimination.d
Caroline, it is easy to judge people for the way they look or if they are from a different class than we are. Prejudices acts and remarks about other can be hurtful and harmful in that persons life especially if it is a child or about their family. We have to be careful how we treat people different from us but try to learn and embrace all uniqueness of others.
ReplyDeleteGreat post.