If the word "prejudice" is applied as it is employed in contemporary usage, that is to say as a synonym for "bigotry" or "racism," then in that sense it represents something that is generally quite wrong. However, that is not the original meaning of the word and, in fact, "prejudice" can be a very good thing.
As the 18th century British statesman and political philosopher Edmund Burke put it, “Prejudice is of ready application in the emergency; it previously engages the mind in a steady course of wisdom and virtue, and does not leave the man hesitating in the moment of decision, skeptical, puzzled and unresolved. Prejudice renders a man’s virtue his habit; and not a series of unconnected acts. Through past prejudice, his duty becomes part of his nature.”
Thus prejudice, in its original meaning, was a viewpoint or an idea that is understood at an historic and instinctive level. For example, a man need not be educated that child abuse is wrong, there is rather an almost instinctive reaction against it. This, in turn, allows an individual to act against it. As Burke says, he acts because it is his intuitive understanding that it is wrong and must be prevented.Much of life in society is guided by prejudice. Which is not to say that it is absent reason. Rather that historical experience and time have made certain ideas and certain actions almost instinctive. This thereby allowing society to operate in the absence of actual law. Indeed, society operates predominantly absent the dictates of law and this conduces to a society that is at once free and virtuous.
Of course, not all prejudices are good and society must take care, in the fullness of time, to assess and reassess its prejudices and where necessary step in - sometimes with the instrument of the law, other times more informally through changing social and cultural standards - to correct or modify them. However, overall, prejudice is a useful tool and should not be casually dismissed - and, to repeat, especially not be confused with bigotry or racism.
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Okay I'll admit I'm a little bit of a hypocrite because I play into identity politics when it benefits MY standpoint. But from a general sense, I do think good stereotypes are just as dangerous as bad ones. Though at the same time, all stereotypes are based in partial truths, so you're really taking a gamble.
Dave Chappelle said it best, "We are brought up to think in generalizations." That's just how humans are wired. There's no avoiding it.
As for the last part of your question, YES, it's absolutely justified. That's how a rational human brain works. There is a saying, "2 is a coincidence, 3 is a pattern." And what irks me most is certain demographic groups just love to play the victim and want everyone else to change for them, when in reality it's their own behavior that's causing people to be racist against them. An English girl on THIS website said it best, "We wouldn't be Islamophobic if you people didn't blow us up and rape our daughters."
Assuming a black person is better at sports is not a postive, that makes the other student feel like less. Also the small portion of athletic black people doesn't mean all black people are. Meaning now more pressures are put on non athletic black people to be athletic
Assuming Asians are smarter does the same.
And because you had a bad experience with a handful of people doesn't mean millions of people are bad, that stupid thinking all around, holds down that racial group of people someone assumes is evil.
All racial stereotypes are wrong because in general they’re no intrinsic differences between races. Choosing a female physician because of her empathy and intuition is not wrong because in general there are actually are differences between men and women and that’s one of them.
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A stereotype is a quick lazy way to make a quick decision, mostly stemming from experiences or beliefs or rumours. My personal opinion is that it's wrong in a way but depending on the level of cautiousness there is a thin line between being picky, and cautious and being stereotypical. Unfortunately, we are not living in a perfect world where we can just look at someone and know if he/she is good or capable, or smart or funny, or evil or bad.
It is can be better than you can do a quick risk assessment as accurate as possible tho that sometimes can make costly mistakes, so it depends on different fields and events that you need to assess people, you may need to change how you act and may even act or do it in secrecy. It's good to protect yourself while being optimal in life decisions. People always have their preferences, it's hard to change and it's always like there is nothing wrong with it, it's pretty close to choosing someone to start a date with, only this time, it's a therapist instead.I don't think being prejudiced is right or wrong. I'd say that a person's opinion on these things depends mostly on their maturity and upbringing.
If you wanna think like this, I seriously think that this type of thinking is something you should have outgrown before puberty.
To see someone pick an accomplished athlete who is in phenomenal shape and you just think they picked the black guy. Or you see an interview with a guy at IBM and you you say, of course they pick the Asian guy. Not only do you think like a 5 year old on a playground, but how is that way of thinking not inherently racist?
I'm not sure you can have a negative positive, if something is a positive stereotypes then it's just that positive.
To be fair stereotypes can be hurtful, and that's bad. But just because they are hurtful doesn't mean they're false, or inaccurate. There would be no stereotypes at all if at least a portion of the specific demographic didn't fit the stereotypes. Right?No. People pre-judge daily. Prejudging isn't the same as discrimination. And discrimination isn't the same as bigotry. If you see a 6'7" man in a hockey mask walking down the street with red stuff on his arms and t-shirt, at midnight on an August evening, would you not prejudge him or your safety?
If the black teammate for basketball or Asian trivia teammate is someone I actually know, I’m making the decision based on experience and not prejudice.
If I’m picking from strangers, those stereotypes might still improve my odds even for I did overlook Monte Towe for my basketball team. (To save everyone a trip to Google, he’s the shortest white man to ever play in the NBA.)What I know from experience is positive stereotypes are hurtful too. If you don't meet the expectations, you feel like there's something wrong with you, and people assume there's something wrong with you too.
The FBI literally uses stereotyping to catch criminals and it works
I'm done pretending we're all the same and that certain groups of people don't lean toward certain things
I prefer to live in reality, and in that reality there's a good chance that 12 year old Asian girl is gonna kick your ass in chess.
Or you can bet the family farm that you'll win because you don't wanna "stereotype" and learn the hard wayPrejudices are the community experience and not your own. It's always based on something and it's usually deserved. If you don't have time to do detailed judgement. It's basically group to group interaction, as a person dealing with a person you don't need to take it into consideration. But if the average outcome in the past has caused a prejudice, future action are likely to align with it.
I jump when I see a snake or a large spider and my reflexes kick in. Prejudice is natural but we should use our brains and knowledge to learn the good snakes and spiders from the venomous/ poisonous ones. Being on guard and cautious is healthy. Blind blanket reactions are not. I’m more cautious of snakes in the swamps and spiders in dark places… but squirrels don’t scare me anywhere.
You're confused.
Stereotypes can be positive or negative, but they are always overgeneralisations.
Prejudice is legal punishable if proven in a court of law and doesn't necessarily stem from stereotypes.
I have never eaten a uranium-and-arsenic casserole. And yet, I genuinely believe that eating said casserole would be a bad idea. I'm prejudiced against it. Is THAT wrong?
Good question. It’s only wrong so far as you are making a false judgement impacting your life and theirs. Otherwise it’s ok if that’s what you believe is best for you.
You could take it a step further and say you should chose a poor sports person for your team or a dumbass for your knowledge coach.
I think that is getting rather silly.“The only way we will ever end racism is if we stop talking about it.”
- Morgan Freeman
I don't based specific jobs on a person gender or race, I can equally take medical treatment from both men and women doctors, the same way I can easily trust both female and male nannies to watch out for my hypothetical future children.
It's an interesting question to ask.. though I... I'm more interested in a solution. What can we do to destroy prejudice once and for all?
Asian have to meet the score the highest on the tests to get into Harvard because of the positive stereotypes. I think that is a negative consequence of a positive stereotype.
stereotypes got there for a reason. I mean have ever heard the stereotype of the midget that is great at dunking basketballs or the black charity organization that helps all humans equally? Of course not, these don't exist.
Prejudice isn't the same as racism isn't the same as stereotyping.
Funny how the three get mashed up together, tho.What? So if I choose the person I know is the best player and he happens to be black I'm now prejudiced? Sounds ignorant to me.
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