The subject of prejudice has been playing on my mind recently so I've decided to express my thoughts concerning this very matter.
I think it's absolutely formidable that some people condone jokes constructed around the subject of prejudice. Why should we deem something which is so immoral and potentially hurtful towards others acceptable? What happened to equality?
This photograph is truly captivating:
I firmly believe that no one is born with the capacity to inflict prejudice comments upon one another. Although one could argue that children are immature due to their ignorance of the world and their dependency on others, I disagree to an extent. In some ways children are far more mature than adults (although do not assume I generalize all adults because I do not). A child's ability to form a relationship with another is solely based on love, friendship and common interest. They are not blinded by any means of prejudice. Children are not born racist, or sexist, or homophobic. This is what gives them a profound sense of maturity. Older people seemingly form friendships not solely on the basis of love, but on the basis of whether or not that person is deemed to be acceptable in the light of society. For example, I have seen people unwilling to become friends with someone due to their race or sexuality (which is truly saddening). They are quick to judge a book by its cover.
Prejudice is ingrained upon children by the means of society. Society's views of what is deemed acceptable or unacceptable are exposed to a child as they grow up and naturally they become prejudiced against the things that are deemed to be unacceptable. Like in this photograph I have seen first hand (due to working with children of a variety of different ages in a variety of different primary schools) children of different racial backgrounds holding hands. I have also seen children of the same sex holding hands and children of opposite sexes holding hands. Children do not determine their friendships out of anything but love for another person be it a person of the same sex, a different sex or a different race. Due to society's influence however some of these children grow up to judge people on these things as a basis for forming friendships. An example of society's influence can be seen in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee. What differentiates Scout Finch from some of the other children in the novel is that she has been brought up not to condone racial prejudice. Due to this, society's influence has had no effect on her. She boldly states, "I think there's just one kind of folks. Folks." This quote displays maturity way beyond what is normally expected of a child and I believe she is utterly correct. We are all born on the common ground that we are human, so therefore we are all similar in some way. This should make prejudice much less justifiable, but still people treat others on an unequal basis.
Segregation has decreased in magnitude due to a number of historical figures such as the likes of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King who dared to stand up and become superior to the unequal state of society, but it is still evident in some ways. Racist (and prejudice) is there in the media and in comedy as well as society and that is what makes it so difficult to extinguish. It also shocks me how some people deem such prejudice like racism and sexism to be wrong, but seem to condone homophobia. Society is somewhat hypocritical in this sense. No prejudice is morally right.
Next time think before you judge someone.
