by Perry Rose Ma Nlp

Created on: February 24, 2009

Prejudice comes from a combination of Latin words, prae - before, and judicium - judgment. Literally what it means is to make a judgment before you have all the information. In other words - assuming. What does it mean to assume? To act on information you don't have as if you do have it. In other words - to guess. If you ever wonder what the odds are on guessing right just go to a casino and play a slot machine. It is impossible to guess what is coming up on the screen next. So when taking part in prejudice we are not acting on solid researched information. We are guessing.

I recall standing in the airport in Los Angeles waiting to board a plane. I was looking across the room at a young man standing against the other wall. This guy was dressed completely in black, had more piercings than I could count and tattoos on nearly every part of his body that was exposed. He was a large man with long, straight black hair. I remember thinking to myself, "I would hate to run into this guy in an alley at night!" We boarded the plane and guess who sat beside me. Right - the guy I had been judging. During our conversation he revealed something to me that taught me one of biggest lessons in my life. He is the pastor of a street church in Los Angeles dealing with gang members. I was floored.

Prejudice is not just racial or ethnic. It happens in many ways daily of which we may not even be aware. One of those is prejudice in conversation. Have you ever found yourself in conversation with someone and as you listen you predetermine in your own mind what they are going to say? Ever had them say something different than what you expected? You guessed wrong. How about prejudice in driving? You find yourself in traffic and frustrated with a driver ahead of you. You begin to think, "This person doesn't know how to drive!" Just then a car shoots out in front of them and they do everything right to avoid the collision. You guessed wrong.

When we practice something in our minds it becomes habit. It does so by creating a neuro pathway. Neuro pathways are just like pathways in nature. The more a path is used in nature the deeper it becomes. Our brains function in the same way. When we use a neuro pathway it gets deeper and stronger. In nature when a pathway is not used the ground recovers and the path disappears from lack of use. Our neuro pathways work the same. When you stop using one it gets weaker and will eventually disappear. Prejudice is a pathway we create in our minds and the more

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