From what I was reading tonight - it comes out of the human need to look beyond the information presented, to deduce an answer or a reason or explanation. Example - you see someone sitting on a bench during a nice day while you are going to work. If the person is a man, black, you might attribute it to him being unemployed slacker. If it is a pregnant woman, taking a rest. A white man, taking the day off. Etc. We don't know why they are on the bench, but our mind fills in the reason. It's necessary in some situations - helps us make critical choices, but it can be dangerous in others.
Prejudice has become over time more subtle, more insidious than in the past. People don't realize they are. They aren't aware of the attributions they are making or the rationalizations. I'm not prejudice someone will say, yet, they may back away from the dark skinned boy on the bus with the hip-hop jeans and the walkman, while thinking nothing of the white guy in glasses, the tie, and the briefcase.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2005-11-14 02:00 am (UTC)If it is a pregnant woman, taking a rest. A white man, taking the day off. Etc. We don't know why they are on the bench, but our mind fills in the reason. It's necessary in some situations - helps us make critical choices, but it can be dangerous in others.
Prejudice has become over time more subtle, more insidious than in the past. People don't realize they are. They aren't aware of the attributions they are making or the rationalizations. I'm not prejudice someone will say, yet, they may back away from the dark skinned boy on the bus with the hip-hop jeans and the walkman, while thinking nothing of the white guy in glasses, the tie, and the briefcase.