prejudice [prej-uh-dis]
-noun
1. any feeling or opinion that is preconceived, either favorable or unfavorable.
2. an opinion or feeling formed beforehand without reason, thought, or knowledge.
3. unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes conceived beforehand, mainly of a hostile nature, regarding racial, religious, or national groups.
The war against prejudice is a never-ending battle. It consumes people. It changes people.
My everyday life is filled with prejudice, and now I am noticing it even more than before. I go to a high school where the majority of the students are white, with a European background. There are very few Blacks and Asians. In all my 15 years on this planet, I have only spoken with four different Asian people, and three of those people I have only known for less than two years.
In my English class, we just finished reading To Kill a Mockingbird. After reading it, I am now even more aware of the lack of diversity in my life.
The people I hang around with are not racist, and neither am I. But every now and then, a racial joke slips out. I know a lot of people who have said "I'm sorry I'm not Asian" when they get a math question wrong, or "damn, I wish I was black too" when they get beaten in a race. These two examples of prejudice are very common. They might not be worded the same everytime, but they imply the same idea: Asians are smart, black people are fast.
Prejudices come what you believe, but mainly from how you were raised. If my mother taught me fat people are slobs, tattoed people are crack addicts, blonds have more fun, and so on, I probably would believe it all. But I don't; I was raised differently. And I am thankful for that.
