“The roots of prejudice is always to be found in everyday life; they grow in one’s workplace and in one’s neighborhood. It is an outlet for one’s own failures and shortcomings. It is above all an expression out of ignorance and fear—ignorance of other people’s peculiarities; fear of losing a position, some social privilege, some presumed right. Skin color, race, language and birthplace surely has nothing at all to do with human qualities. To grade others by such low standards stands in stark contrast to the principle of equality. But it is also shamefully easy to apply by those whom feel inferior—in their workplace, in their social life, in their competition for a girl or a boy” -Olof Palme, 1966.
We do see race, it's in our DNA. It becomes bigotry and racism when we choose to discriminate in order to feel superior. Some people dig the idea of belonging to an exclusive club just look at the history of genocide.
Studies have shown that people have a hard time identifying people who look dissimilar to them. Educator Jane Elliot has been teaching a course on how easy it is to be prejudiced for fifty years.
Can
we change? Probably not. Should we try? Yes. It's not an exercise in futility
to strive for a better nature, it's just really hard work breaking a very old
ingrained habit. Think about how hard it is to stick with a diet. It's a
struggle but worth it.
When I lived in San Francisco everyone came in different sizes shapes and colors and I loved that. I also discovered that it's not just white people who are bigoted and I loved that too because we really are all the some. Genetics have proven that difference between you, me and everyone else in the world is negligible. By the way, to all those supremacists yelling "white power" turns out there is 2-5 % Neanderthal DNA in Europeans but none in Africans.
We
are all a little prejudiced but it's ok as long as we acknowledge it and change.
Time to change -again.
Dear World, Jane Eliot, Olof Palme
1 comment:
YOu have an excellent blog, my friend:) Thank you!
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