Unfortunately, I wasn't able to be in class for any discussion of prejudice and discrimination. So hopefully I don't just repeat what many people already said.
Well, what I would like to talk about is just the idea of the term prejudice as a whole, because I feel it has a huge impact on how we view our own ethnicities and others. I personally remember when I was younger I had a prejudicial view of the Jewish people. I believed they were all cheap, and this was all built off of how my dad was cheap about shopping and the same with my grandma. Fortunately for me, I was able to break that belief after being exposed to more Jewish people.
Many also used prejudices to shape how they act or how they should act. For example one African-American calling another a "snow-flake" because the other does not act like the preconceived prejudice of what an African-American should act like.
Prejudices are clearly just one of those things that we have to think about before we truly pass judgement on if it is a truly 'bad' or 'good' concept.
First off I commend you for being so bold as to say that you have held prejudices aout your own race/ethnicity in the past which this is so hard for people to admit. But your right so much of what people do or say is based on steroetypes of what make them a authentic "jewish" or "black" or even "white" person. And its all foolishness. Also by doing this to ourselves we'r insulting our own selves. And its hard to hear, watch or even understand because we have all done this to some degree oth concious and unsubconsiously.
ReplyDeletelike I have heard white people tell another white people, an associate of mines after my sister braided her hair to "stop trying to act balck" all because she wore braids in her hair. So what about a hairstyle changes a persons ethnicity/race? I think its because we think of certain cultural things like music, food or even linguisic. (something as simple as to how you speak or even the vocabulary we choose to use when we speak.) As to belonging to a specific group of people, whether they be the dominate or the subordinate groups. Thiers know such thing "acting black, white or jewish" thier is now specific script, intelligence levels or cultural exsperiance, foods, clothing that can make you fit the criteria for another race or ethnicity. We aren't cookie-cutter copies we are individuals who are diffrent in every way. And when you live, grow and exsperiance certain cultural similarities it still doesnt mean us "fit the part for Acting ANY race/ethnicity" because our essence, skin color and furthermore our genetics does not change. All it means is we have (a few) something(s) in common. "Lets be friend" :)