Prejudice and Discrimination

Some people feel that they have the right to judge, reject and persecute others on the grounds of age, gender, disability, ethnicity, sexual orientation or social class. This is known as prejudice (literally pre-judging; e.g. forming an opinion of what someone is like on the basis of one of these attributes) and discrimination (the way in which you treat that person as a result of your prejudice).


I really hate this kind of thing, whatever form it takes, but unfortunately it probably goes on a lot more than some people might think. Some might argue that everyone is prejudiced to an extent, even if this prejudice is based on something like what someone wears, rather than any of the points mentioned earlier. However, even if this is the case for some people, they should at least be open to changing their opinions once they get to know the person in question and shouldn't treat them any differently or discriminate against them.

Above left: Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church

Above centre: Bill O'Reilly

I can't think of any excuse for things such as racism or homophobia, although I tend to think that discrimination can take more subtle forms than some people might think. For instance, I don't think that it makes it ok if you buy into certain stereotypes (e.g. "Jews are canny", "disabled people aren't intellegent"), reject, gossip or spread rumours about someone, although some people seem to justify doing this by saying that it's not as bad as being overtly abusive through calling someone offensive names etc.

An article relating to Mel Gibson's anti-semitic tirade in 2006:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-398527/Mel-Gibsons-meltdown.html


Info relating to some of the effects of those who experience homophobia: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4055801.stm

An article about the use of stereotypes in political cartoons and how they can be interpreted in different ways: http://racism-politics.suite101.com/article.cfm/stereotypes_in_political_cartoons_have_meaning