Prejudice and Discrimination.

To judge in favour of anything means you have to discard and judge against something else. This is discrimination. What grounds you discriminate on depends upon what you desire most, and what experiences, learning rules, you have had.

We also don't always appreciate that some of the words we use have been distorted into a different meaning for some people, usually the younger generation, and those who are older will remember the old meanings. This can lead to misunderstandings which in turn can lead to serious relationship difficulties.

Prejudice is based on what we have been taught by others or learned through personal experience. When we make decisions we use those rules/experiences to help us choose something, or make a decision about something. This is normal and should never be considered to be wrong.

Prejudice is much harder to deal with. Unless you have had the same experiences and been taught the same rules you cannot be sure that they are what you think they are, which is a form of stereo-typing, or that they will respond in the way you think. This is what learning about people, and life, is all about. Don't underestimate those who have a different background, are of another generation, culture, or creed. Unless you understand exactly what has made them the way they are you cannot judge other than by your own experiences. This means you automatically pre-judge the other people, and these pre-judgements or prejudices may be either wrong, or right. Experience, time and maturity with some wisdom will tell you who is right.

Don't condemn people for showing prejudice; everyone does it to some extent and sometimes the rules of society can change more than once in a lifetime. The rules of society that I lived under when I was growing up in the north of England in the 1950s and 60s are totally different to what they are now. Young people today have a different outlook on life to that which I had then.

Having lived for nearly 60 years, I can assure you I know many of the attitudes shown today are wrong, and can only destroy society, not enhance it. But unless you have had the experiences I have had, or have been made aware of them, you will not believe me, and prejudge me as having prejudices that should not be there. Think again, please.

Bullying is something different. Bullying is someone wanting to be better than someone else. Usually this person is insecure, and this insecurity makes them frightened so they look for an easy target to bully and make them feel better than they are. The only way the target can overcome this is to show they are not frightened of the bully, and even more importantly, after an initial oral dispute, walk away, preferably still keeping an eye on the bully, and being prepared to be attacked, although if the bully is as frightened and insecure as we all think they probably won't attack. If they do attack, hit back; it is self-defense, and sometimes it helps the bully realise you are not a soft target, just a stronger and wiser one.

Learn more about this author, Carol Noble.
Click here to send author comments or questions.

---

Add your voice

Know something about Causes of prejudice and bullying (and what you can do about them)?
We want to hear your view. Write now!