PREJUDICES HOW DO WE GET THEM AND HOW DO WE GET RID

OF THEM?
Written by Ms Tanja Talia aka WolfPrincess of Mt. Lupus (SERBIA)
To be prejudiced generally has a negative conotation and it
means having an opinion about somebody or something not
based on facts, but - more often than not - influenced by some
other source, be it a person or Media that we have come to trust
inexplicably.
How do we get prejuduces? We are often unaware of having any,
and even when we are, seldom do we go introspective in our
search of their roots. Generally, we are influenced by our parents,
siblings, friends, peer groups, environment, culture and traditions
of the nation that we were born to. Many a prejudice come from
our own personal likes or dislikes, our first impressions about
something or somebody, or merely a hearsay, something which
we have heard or just read about. Attitudes based on prejudices
are often totally irrational, we cannot explain them or give a valid
reason why we feel, think and/or behave in that particular way.
Prejudices are found in all strata of human society, but the less
educated a person is, the more likely he or she is to be strongly
prejudiced.
Some of the most common prejudices are those which concern
other peoples religion, race or nation, where the other people are
judged harshly or unfairly simply because they have got a
different set of beliefs, customs and behavioural patterns. If any
of this kind of prejudices are deeply ingrained, they can lead to
violent reactions when such persons get into contact with the
opposite group. Every single extremists organisation has got its
well of hatred in pathological prejudices concerning the people
who are different or who do not adhere to the said groups code
of acceptable behaviour. Many crimes have been committed
throughout the history of mankind, because the prejudice was the

cause of a violent hatred. To name just a few: the Inquisition,

slavery, racism, chauvinism, religious fanatism, Nazism, etc.
The only way to fight against prejudices is to be as open-minded
as possible, and in order to achieve that one ought to constantly
broaden ones horizons. We must strive to educate ourselves by
making an effort to learn facts about topics which are often
painful or distasteful to ponder. We must ask ourselves whether
we are being just and unbiased about any topics and if we have
got enough solid facts before we form an opinion about
something important. A higher level of education (which neednt
necessarily be a formal one) usually equips ones mind with one
very desirable trait inquisitiveness. We should also try not to be
self-righteous and smug in our deaIings with people who have
different background than ours. In this modern era of the fast
Internet, most of us can go to forums and discuss topics and
search for reliable data from many sources available online.