Sunday, July 12, 2009

What is Prejudice or Bigotry

Prejudice is when you think that people of a certain ethnic group are superior to others. It has nothing to do with sexual preference. There are some things that God is against and normal people find morally reprehensible. However let's examine if the media is prejudicial. If Black man says that "I came out of Saratoga Baptist Church with my wife and children when I saw the old man crossing the street, the car hit him," that would be shown in the drama. If a white man says that, "I came out of the Saratoga Methodist Church (which is across from the Saratoga Baptist Church)with my family and we saw a Blue Pontiac hitting this old guy," there would be no mention unless you find out that same white man was the member of the KKK, a white supremist or the church was really named the Saratoga Whites First Methodist Church or something similar.
Now what if that black man was the member of the Saratoga Blacks are Better than White Society, an organization known for buying property at below cost values so that black people who would not qualify for low cost mortages - i.e. drug dealers and gangsters - can get in a neighborhood. If one mentioned this, would that be prejudicial?

If you need a new police chief, you happen to live in a town in Minnesota -yes, the majority of the people are of Swedish, Norwegian, and Danish descent, but you hire a black chief, would that be acceptable? However, what if the reverse were true? You live in New York City, in Harlem. The chief retired or you hire Jack Johnson a blue eyed man of Swedish descent, complete with the tall rangy look and blonde hair. In what instance, would you get the most irate letters, emails, and phone calls? So why is it acceptable to have Daniel Lamont, who is an African American who just moved from South Carolina be the police chief in Smalltown, Minnesota, yet Jack Johnson originally from Minnesapolis, Minnesota cannot be the police chief in Harlam. By the way, lets say that both men worked in their various police stations in their original towns, and both got honorable discharges from the army, complete with medals for heroism, both are married, are active in their churchs, etc.

This is just a small example. So being prejudice does not mean that you are prejudiced if you think black people are inferior, it means you are also prejudiced if you think white people are inferior. In fact, anyone can be prejudiced against someone of a different or even a lighter skin color. It is saying that we give preferential treatment based not on experience but on the color or lack thereof of one's skin.

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