What are your prejudices?

[Lintu]

The thread about racist remarks got me thinking about prejudices. I'm willing to bet we all have them, even if they aren't racist. There are probably a lot of people who try to be openminded, but I doubt there are many who truly have no sense of prejudice in their mind. I know I tend to be prejudiced against uneducated or poorly educated people. I know that this isn't a good thing, but it just seems to be automatic to my brain. What are your prejudices? Are you trying to get rid of them? Do you think it is even possible to have no prejudices?

I'm not talking about prejudice as in making fun of someone or discriminating against a certain group. I just mean, when you encounter someone with a particular trait, is there a negative reaction in your brain toward them?

 

[Aqualung]

I tend to automatically think of people who dress certain ways or perhaps guys with long hair, and who genearally seem llike liberals, to in fact be liberals. Therefore, I will avoid them, but then later learn that they are just conservatives in disguise. In the opposite direction, I will make really good friends and then learn they are liberals later. I guess it's not such a crime to be a liberal as I thought . . .

This is a prejudice I'm not proud of. I'll generally tend to take what a man says as being true, but I'll have to have proof that a woman is smart (other things she has said are true, etc.) before beleiving her. It's kind of sad, because it's degrading my own gender, but for some reason I can't help it. That's why I left my gender undisclosed and try as hard as possible to not look at other's genders on this forum. I'm really trying to get rid of that prejudice

 

[The Black Whirlwind]

i have a... particularly strong gaydar, and whenever people who wear odd clothes, talk differently (not in language, but in accents), or behave in a certain way, i will think them gay. No matter how hard i try, i cant get rid of it.

 

[Jaymes]

Heheh, a good gaydar is good when you're looking for someone to seduce. /joke

I have prejudices against rednecks, which isn't too cool of me, since redneck is just an appearance/accent thing.

 

[Mr Spinkles]

I'm not proud of it, but I have to admit that I am a bit prejudiced towards vampires. I just don't trust them.

 

[ch'ang]

I'm have ill feelings to people who are less intelligent I don't mean mentaly handicaped people but normal people who don't understand what I'm saying. Secondly whats up with the blue stars? everyone seems to be getting them

 

[Pah]

I'm have ill feelings to people who are less intelligent I don't mean mentaly handicaped people but normal people who don't understand what I'm saying. Secondly whats up with the blue stars? everyone seems to be getting them

I hope you have no prejudices against blue stars. They are merely a symbol of having been a member of Religious Forums for a year.


Now how's THAT for keeping an off topic question on topic?

 

[Neo-Logic]

Basically most of the stereotypes. I haven't trained my mind to not pre-judge and I don't think I ever can. However, while I pre-judge, I also open my mind, allowing either the stereotype or the uniqueness of the person to influence how I percieve them. First impression, while not everything, is a very important factor.

 

[Engyo]

I went through a program from the Center for Healing Racism here in Houston, called "Dialogue:Racism". This was/is a very powerful program. It runs one night a week for 10 weeks, at 1 1/2 hours per night. One of the things this is designed to do is to uncover unconcious racism; things people have picked up from their culture and background, and don't knowingly perpetuate. The program opened my eyes in many ways, and taught me to see how things we can take for granted, and consider innocuous, can carry a racist message for another.

What I remember most is the concept of relative truth. Picture a situation with three people; two people speaking to each other and a third person who just observes. Each participant can come away with a different perspective on their exchange. One person can say something with absolutely no racist intent, but the person who hears it can perceive racism in the words and/or the delivery. The observer who didn't participate in the exchange may have a third viewpoint. However, each of these viewpoints are true, for that person. There is the objective truth, which is the exact words which were spoken. Then there are three sets of perceptive truth, which are each participant's emotional memory of the exchange, including tone of voice, body language, etc. One can honestly say that he spoke with no racist intent, while another can honestly say that she perceived racism in the exchange. Since there are differing accounts of the exchange, which are all true, each to the accounter; this is called relative truth.

All of this was a very interesting and eye-opening experience. If something similar is available to anyone, I would recommend it.

 

[Original Freak]

People who put being 'cool' ahead of everything else. I can't stand those people, and I can't help it.

 

[anders]

The thread about racist remarks got me thinking about prejudices. I'm willing to bet we all have them, even if they aren't racist. There are probably a lot of people who try to be openminded, but I doubt there are many who truly have no sense of prejudice in their mind. I know I tend to be prejudiced against uneducated or poorly educated people. I know that this isn't a good thing, but it just seems to be automatic to my brain. What are your prejudices? Are you trying to get rid of them? Do you think it is even possible to have no prejudices?

I'm not talking about prejudice as in making fun of someone or discriminating against a certain group. I just mean, when you encounter someone with a particular trait, is there a negative reaction in your brain toward them?

I'm prejudiced against people exhibiting prejudices. Apart from that, I do hope that I have none. Perhaps my preferring tailors, cobblers, bookbinders etc. from Asian or ME countries could be interpreted as my being prejudiced aginst my fellow Swedes - but I promise you, it's not just a case of costs; I like those people.

I've encountered very few non-Europeans in Sweden. One guy from Lebanon was my best friend for some time, until he moved to Finland (he's an assistant professor in Arabic now), a bunch of other ME university classmates and teachers were as great persons as can be, and at present I hope to be able to travel China together with an indigenous fellow student of Chinese.

Almost exclusively, I've had very favourable impressions of people of other cultures. Both adopted Vietnamese daughters of my former sister-in-law are as nice and as successful in shool as can be, and I'd do most anything (within the limits of any law or religion) to help and support one of my present classmates of Chinese (she's 24, born in Vietnam and working double-shift and pursuing at least two different academic carreers and I'm 62).

I have, sadly, some difficulties in interacting with severely mentally challenged people, and admire people who manage. Perhaps a part of it comes from not being very used to that sort of things. But I'm learning, I hope. My brother in law has from a former marriage two children suffering from the "fragile X syndrome". The boy is severely autistic. Like many others, not the least people of Down's syndrome, he likes music and rhythm. A movie was made of his two visits to Tanzania. It was extremely moving to see how he got more alive and participated with the natives, musicians and others, and so on. Dammit, I find it hard to clear my eyes from tears to go on writing, just recalling the movie. Gotta end the post, and it's way past 1 AM.

 

[Zephyr]

I call this,
50 thing I hate!

1.I'll admit it, I don't like things that suck.

2.I also don't trust other guys as often as gals.

3.They also seem too clumsy.

4.There are some exceptions.

5.Maybe I'm not manly enough.

6.People who like rap annoy me.

7.Same with people who feel that the bass in their cars need to be heard from miles away.

8.I also hate people who think I'm gay because of my long hair and would rather hang with the girls than play football.

9.I hate clowns that use air pumps to make balloon animals.

10.This doesn't apply to those who use comically oversized ones.

11.Cell phones, 'nuff said.

12.People who say guestimate.

13.Congressman Tom Tancredo (see http://www.religiousforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17116)

14.People who remind me of him (Viva, maybe that one Proffessor dude.)

15.Black people who insist that my people enslaved theirs.

16.I'm the second generation thank you very much.

17.Jerks.

18.People who are dead-set against bondage.

19.It's fun, even in a nonsexual context.

20.Seriously, don't knock it until you try it.

21.People who make long lists like these.

22.Congressman Tom Tancredo.

23.I hate you man!

24.Players.

25.Stop taking all the gals.

26.Like it isn't hard enough to find someone already.

27.People who cheat.

28.Congressman Tom Tancredo.

29.Drummers(See number 25.)

30.People who think Power Metal is for sissies.

31.Tom Tancredo.

32.Fundamentalists

33.Except fundamentalist Frisbeetarians.

34.Regular Frisbeetarians

35.People who like tofu.

36.People who trick me into eating tofu.

37.Spiders.

38.Werewolves.

39.Vampires.

40.Zombies.

41.The Golden Gate Bridge.

42.The state of Funk

43.Hippies.

44.Nazis

45.Hippy Nazis.

46.Cults.

47.Things that confuse me.

48.Sporks.

49.Soy Beans.

And Finally,
50.People who actual spent the time to read this, and disagree with any of it.