Due to the recent issues with the Trayvon Martin case, I'd like y'all to advice someone who may be prejudiced. This person could be anyone and shall not be construed to be anyone in particular. Is there any hope for this person? Can he overcome his prejudices? Is "therapy" necessary or can time slowly change him? All I ask is that you don't say, "Well how this person feel if he was discriminated upon?" as a way to cause reflection and lead this person to change; he's already tried it and it didn't help. Thanks.
I think there is hope for this boy. Deeply rooted prejudice and growing up in an atmosphere of hate is a bit different from what he went through. This boy had been the target of bullies of another race, and as a result, formed judgments which generalized to a whole group of people. Ongoing bullying can be traumatic and clearly instills fear and hurts ones sense of self. This boy may not really have hate in his heart. For some people, it can help, at work or elsewhere to find someone who fits the profile of the person he fears, and really get to know that person, maybe by working together on a project. Prejudice of any kind is stronger when we don't really know the other person. Hope this boy works this out. He is thoughtful and is open to other people. ---------- Post added 14th Jul 2013 at 05:38 AM ---------- I wasn't really ever prejudiced, but early in my career I had a black woman as my principal, my boss. She was the most effective, personable , dynamic boss I've ever had. I loved her and learned a lot from her.
I don't know whether or not to consider myself prejudiced. Maybe so, but I do my damnedest to give people the benefit of the doubt. It's absolutely true that black people and I are usually very different. For that I tend not to associate much with them, but that's not a hate thing-- live and let live. I have lots of black coworkers and they are great people whom I may not be close friends with, but I have no problem interacting with them at work all the time. My hangup is why there are still such things as "ghetto" and "thuggish" culture. You see tons of black people being arrested for petty crimes, and even many innocent ones have fallen prey to the attitude that ostentatiousness and ignorance are respectable. I highly doubt that MLK would look fondly on what has happened to the black communities he ultimately died for. IMO organizations like the NAACP should be the first to condemn people like Lil' Wayne (who recently danced on a grounded American flag) because they are loud and unfortunately common enough to damage the reputation of the entire race. ^^That still makes me feel weird, though. Why should blacks be represented by a small group of barbarians, while whites are undamaged by similar white misbehavior? That's the only hangup I have that makes me feel like a racist in some respect. :/
