Prejudice and Stereotyping Are Normal

On first glance, this essay title would be outrageously immoral and inexcusable to most people. Yet, a closer, dispassionate examination of facts in this matter would verify the truth of the title's assertion.

Firstly, a distinction should be made between "normal" and "just". Most people would agree that for the most part, we live in an unjust world, where lack of fairness is the unfortunate norm. Every disparity between people always comes across as unfair, to those on the "short end of the stick".

It is human, to attempt to interpret and discern all that which we see and hear around us, and attempt to make sense of it in terms of our own expereiences. But when it comes to judging members of a particular group of people--be the grouping based upon race, gender, religion, age or national origin--we make our assessments of other people based upon very limited knowledge and experience with that other group of people. More often than not, this is because the entire group of said people is composed of several millions of people, with all of whom we cannot possibly be closely familiar. We therefore draw our conclusions about entire groupings of people, based upon the few with whom we have had some kind of experience, PLUS what we read and hear of them through the national news media. It is to be admitted that the news media is a very powerful opinion-shaper.

Every individual person likes to show his best side to the rest of the world, in order to win its approval. This author remembers, as a boy, frequently going to a men's clothing store, in the which he always bought his clothes. In that clothing store was a three-way panel mirror, which afforded those who stood before it an opportunity to see themselves from six different sides and angles. It is not every day that each of us gets to see himself/herself from the same sides and angles from which others see us. Therefore, in some cases, it may take us by shock surprise, to understand that somebody else sees us as being something somehow less than noble, when all along, we ourselves wanted to project a glorifying and even deifying image of ourselves.

This author also remembers, long years ago, reading about the training of FBI agents at their Quantico, Virginia training base. An instructor would be lecturing to a class of prospective agents, when suddenly, a completely strange man would frantically crash into the classroom, look wildly around the room, grab an object in the room, and make a quick dash to the exit. All this would take place within a ten-second time frame. The instructor would know in advance that this incident was scheduled to happen, but he did not tell the class about it in advance. Afterwards, each student is asked to describe to the best of his ability, the man he saw, and what he saw him to do during his brief presence in the classroom. Very often, there would be considerable disparity, between what the students saw, and what they THOUGHT they saw.

Likewise, when each of us sizes up another person for the first time, there is usually a considerable gap, between what we see, and what we THINK we see.

We can all observe the outward actions and behaviours of other people; but more often than not, their motives for said actions and behaviours is anybody's guess.

Yes, prejudice and stereotyping are normal, based on a primitive human need to make sense out of the world around us. There is nobody who feels no such need and so does not act accordingly. Otherwise, people would not feel prepared at all, to respond to and deal with the world in which they live. Yet, it is to be admitted always, that our information upon which we act is both flawed and incomplete. It is all like the story of five blind men, who touched five different parts of an elephant's body, and came to five different conclusions, as to what it is that they are touching.

One dark night, when the moon was bright, two dead boys got up to fight. Back-to-back they faced each other, drew their swords and shot each other. The deaf policeman heard the noise, came and killed the two dead boys. If you don't believe this story is true, ask the blind man--he saw it, too!

-LKM