Prejudice Essay, Research Paper
Prejudice
Prejudice is an unjustified negative attitude toward a group, a
category of people, or a cultural practice. Prejudice against a group
carries a strong emotional discomfort with, dislikes of outright hatred
of its members. Often it is based on a negative stereotype that resist
rational argument. Many prejudices are passed along from parents to
children, in messages that say “ We don’t associate with those kind of
people”, sometimes without either generation having ever met the
object of their dislikes.
People cling to some attitudes like life preserves but they are
persuaded to give up on others. The different casual connections
between attitudes and behavior can be seen so clearly in the case of
prejudice. In some cases the attitude (prejudice) leads to behavior of
discrimination. Discrimination may be slim, as when a person refuses
to associate with targets of the prejudice.
In the United States prejudice has led to the hanging of blacks,
bombing of synagogues, the massacre of Native Americans, the
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harassment of homosexuals, and other violent acts against minority
groups. Sometimes people who have prejudiced attitudes are
prevented from discriminating because of the law, social convention,
or other interests. Even people with no prejudices may nevertheless
discriminate in their behavior.
Although many claim we live in an age of enlightenment,
discrimination in the workplace remains common. When employment
decisions are based on a employees race, sex, religion, the impact is
felt on many levels. Economically, qualified employees are denied
decent jobs.
Some of the biggest racists are those who don’t even know that
they are, and even say that they are not. These people are racists
because they cannot comprehend what is happening and do not
realize what they are saying is racist. Often times these people feel
that just because a person is a certain color or race, that they must be
a thief or a criminal.
It is very typical in today’s society and no one deserves to be
prejudged like that. The prejudice of people in the world is disgusting.
The worst part of it all is that they don’t even know that they are doing
it. They often think that it is just normal behavior.