• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Why Predudices are so dangerous?

Vinayaka

devotee
Premium Member
Suppose you buy car make A, and then car make B. A runs forever, but B is a total lemon. Then, for your third car, if you again buy car B, you're just a fool. Better to keep your 'prejudice'.

I believe what this thread is about is irrational prejudice, not just prejudice. If there is no rational reason to discrimination, then yes, one has to work on it. But often there is a totally rational reason. I'm not traveling to certain countries on this planet because my government says it's unsafe. Some of those countries are primarily of a certain religion. Call me prejudiced if you want to, but I'll stick with just being wise.

Disagreement is not prejudice. Most certainly disagreement is not hate.

On individual levels, I think the only way to deal with it is to be reflective, and deal with your own subconscious mind. Prejudice is usually unique to the individual. Lacking the ability to self-study leads to sustained prejudice.
 
Last edited:

joe1776

Well-Known Member
Isn’t it a need of the ego or lower self because if I wanted to be superior spiritually I would be looking at trying to be more humble, more loving, more kind?
Yes.

So claims that my religion or my race or nationality are superior would come from my ego or lower self for the higher self usually says things like all humanity is one family.
I use the word arrogance because the word is commonly understood but the same kind of behavior might be called egotism by philosophers, vanity by theologians, narcissism by psychologists, and referred to as a superiority complex by psychiatrists. But they're usually referring to people who are extremely arrogant.
 
Last edited:

joe1776

Well-Known Member
All humans aren't born with the same rights, nor are they all born free and equal.
That is a goal to strive for.

How we do that is more difficult than the identification of the goal itself, imho.
I'm not sure what you mean by equality.

In order to measure something, we must first establish a standard. What's the standard for measuring human worth? I don't think there is one. Therefore, we are all born equal and any standard created by a society is going to be unfair to some and allow unearned advantages to others.

You say we aren't born equal. Equal in what? What standard are you using?
 
Last edited:

lewisnotmiller

Grand Hat
Staff member
Premium Member
I'm not sure what you mean by equality.

In order to measure something, we must first establish a standard. What's the standard for measuring human worth? I don't think there is one. Therefore, we are all born equal and any standard created by a society is going to be unfair to some and allow unearned advantages to others.

You say we aren't born equal. Equal in what? What standard are you using?

I mean that people are not born free and equal across the planet. They never have been.
Suggesting that they are is mixing what we think should be the case, with what IS the case.

I'm not suggesting one human life holds more intrinsic value than another. I'm suggesting that humans are better at glib phrases they wish were true than actionable items for complex problems.
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
"Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the world,..."

Article 1 states;

"...All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood...."

So as all have these rights,
Objectively speaking, there is no such thing as equality or inherent rights or dignity. We're not born with anything. Those are man-made concepts rooted in a liberal Enlightenment worldview and Christian morality. If you want something in this world, you have to take it. That's how nature works. Prejudice is just a natural part of being human since we're tribalistic animals. We all have our prejudices, including you and me. It's fine to admit that. It's also fine to think you're superior. Everyone does, in various ways. Let's just keep it below the level of genocide. :rolleyes:
 

joe1776

Well-Known Member
...If you want something in this world, you have to take it. That's how nature works...
I think you're wrong. The fittest to survive are those willing to cooperate in a worthy cause. That's why Hitler's Nazis and the other Axis powers in WW2 hellbent on taking what they wanted were defeated by 55 nations cooperating in a worthy cause.
 
Last edited:

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
I think you're wrong. The fittest to survive are those willing to cooperate in a worthy cause. That's why Hitler's Nazis and the other Axis powers in WW2 hellbent on taking what they wanted were defeated by 55 nations cooperating in a worthy cause.
Nothing you said refutes what I said. Of course a large group of people united in purpose have a higher level of success. In regards to WWII, the Germans were winning the war in Western Europe (they had conquered much of it by 1941). They screwed up by invading the USSR, forcing them into a two front war that used up all their resources. If they hadn't invaded the USSR, they likely would've won the war and history would be much different. Had nothing to do with a "worthy cause", as if that's enough to win a war and as if the Axis Powers didn't believe their cause was worthy.
 

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Greatings from Cambodia and more "real" life, a non-citizen anywhere.

The earth is but one country and mankind its citizens is my outlook on life. :)

So Greetings from Australia, from a life that is not real and very materialistic. A life where giving to others is not a spontanious part of life, for the majority. At the same time in the Australian culture, no matter how hard things get, no one would ask for help, but in those times, people choose to help. Thus we are a strange mob.

I wish you well and happy in your life journey and look forward to meeting you in all the worlds to come. God works in mysterious ways.

Regards Tony
 

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
No.

First, Islam is an ideology, not a people, race, gender, etc. Every ideology needs to be examined. If people are too sensitive when they examine their ideology, perhaps this is a red flag, because it is dangerous. Second, if something is true it's not prejudice. Third, terrorism is a minority among Muslims but the majority of terrorists are Islamic. Therefore, you cannot easily dismiss this as a terrorist problem not an Islamic problem.

Perhaps your inability to examine the dangers of an ideology you're already close to makes you unfit to do it. I doubt you'd have the same dismissal for other potentially dangerous ideologies like Nazism.

I see that a predudice against something called 'Islam' would hindered a person to find out what Islam really is, the Islam practiced by millions of Loving Peaceful people. Instead, a predudice would attribute wrong actions of a few to the practice of a majority.

At the same time, like all of us, people of Islamic background, can and will have to overcome their own prejudices.

Regards Tony
 

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
@Tony Bristow-Stagg What I see for me to do is keep working on my own prejudices, learning to be a better friend to more people, learning to tell stories, bringing the topic up for conversation sometimes, and learning to help with the growth and spread of healthier, happier, more loving communities. One way that I've tried to free myself from prejudices is when I see myself depreciating some group or category of people, I try to spend time with some of those people in environments where they feel at home, looking for things in them and in what they do, to like and admire. I have a new idea that I haven't tried yet. If I can't find any way to spend time with some of the people I'm depreciating, I want to try finding heartwarming stories to read, by and for some of those people.

That is a great goal, as it is only our own selves that can look for and change the prejudices we have have ingrained into our way if life.

Regards Tony
 

charlie sc

Well-Known Member
I see that a predudice against something called 'Islam' would hindered a person to find out what Islam really is, the Islam practiced by millions of Loving Peaceful people. Instead, a predudice would attribute wrong actions of a few to the practice of a majority.
You seemed to have ignored what I said; please read my last post again.

At the same time, like all of us, people of Islamic background, can and will have to overcome their own prejudices.
They have much more prejudices to work out from their own religion, not the other way around.
 

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
If you want something in this world, you have to take it. That's how nature works. Prejudice is just a natural part of being human since we're tribalistic animals.

I see we have a choice, that we are bigger than nature and do not have to give way to baser instincts. If we want something in this world we can work for it, no one has to take it.

That then gets back to giving all the opportunity to pursue thier goal in life.

Regards Tony
 

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
I see we have a choice, that we are bigger than nature and do not have to give way to baser instincts. If we want something in this world we can work for it, no one has to take it.

That then gets back to giving all the opportunity to pursue thier goal in life.

Regards Tony
Nothing and no one is bigger than nature.
 

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
They have much more prejudices to work out from their own religion, not the other way around.

That is the thing about prejudice, we always think we do not own as many as others do.

I do not see people in Islam having any more than any other person, but they may have a different focus.

Stay well and happy, regards Tony
 

Milton Platt

Well-Known Member
I see that a dangerous predudice is that of attributing the actions of a few to a whole group.

A good example of this is the thread 'Why is Islam so dangerous". It attributes dangerous terrorists acts of a few, to a majority.

It would be more beneficial to ask 'why Terrorism is so dangerous'.

The answer could be that it is built upon extreme predudices held by individuals, that can attract and influence a weak minority of followers.

Regards Tony

Not necessarily. It says Islam (a religion) is dangerous. It does not say all Islamists are dangerous.
 

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Not necessarily. It says Islam (a religion) is dangerous. It does not say all Islamists are dangerous.

Yes it can be seen that way and I see either way, it can be seen as a predudice based assumption. That can be shown to be so.

I personally see Muhamad and the Quran show us a path of Peace, Love and Justice. (Many millions also see it in that light) I see the majority of the people that embrace that Message make the effort to practice it as it was taught. As a Baha'i I embrace the essence of the Message given in the Quran.

Regards Tony
 
Last edited:

Sapiens

Polymathematician
I think that the real point is being entirely missed. Prejudice is often part and parcel of a suite of attributes: Conservatism, Fear Based Thinking, and other processes mediated by the amygdala. At the other end of the spectrum is more Liberal Thought, experimentation, exploration and other processes handled by the prefrontal lobe. A successful community requires input from members who fall all along that line.
 

joe1776

Well-Known Member
Nothing you said refutes what I said. Of course a large group of people united in purpose have a higher level of success. In regards to WWII, the Germans were winning the war in Western Europe (they had conquered much of it by 1941). They screwed up by invading the USSR, forcing them into a two front war that used up all their resources. If they hadn't invaded the USSR, they likely would've won the war and history would be much different. Had nothing to do with a "worthy cause", as if that's enough to win a war and as if the Axis Powers didn't believe their cause was worthy.
It seems you miss the point that the group cooperating in a worthy cause will always be larger because they are morally motivated.

The Axis leaders didn't think their cause was morally justified. They were highly arrogant sociopaths who thought they were stronger and born to rule the weak. They got in over their arrogant heads just as their type always does.
 

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
I think that the real point is being entirely missed. Prejudice is often part and parcel of a suite of attributes: Conservatism, Fear Based Thinking, and other processes mediated by the amygdala. At the other end of the spectrum is more Liberal Thought, experimentation, exploration and other processes handled by the prefrontal lobe. A successful community requires input from members who fall all along that line.

I see we can become masters of what we choose to think. Personally, as I see mind is shared, we do not always have control as to what enters our thoughts, but we can control what actions we take and what we adopt as our core values.

Regards Tony
 

TransmutingSoul

Veteran Member
Premium Member
Some of those countries are primarily of a certain religion.

I see we could consider that is a prejudice.

I'm not traveling to certain countries on this planet because my government says it's unsafe.

That is most likely a wise choice. Most likely as there is a group of radicals that make it unsafe to do so. Sometimes that group is controlled by people claiming a specific religion.

Regards Tony
 
Top