Prejudice

[Art Vandelay]

Hopefully someone can help me out as I am kinda unsure about this topic. I have to analyze this short text which is basically saying the there is a difference between pre-judgement and prejudice and that thinking pre-judgement is automatically bad is wrong.

An example is if a drunk homeless man comes to you asking for change and has a aggressive tone of voice, you will form a judgement of that person on how likely they are to take hostile actions towards you. Now if a polite sounding sober teenage girl came up to you and asked for change to use a pay phone you would not judge this person the same.

The author then claims that the reasons for why making that negative judgement about a person is not wrong and the reasons for that are complex but ultimately it is not bad to form that negative judgement because it is backed up by statistical probability. It is more likely for drunk male beggars to commit assault on a stranger than it is for polite teenage girls so therefor a rational assessment of risk is not bad.

I want to say that this screams bullshit to me but I can not find a hole in it to expose it. I could very well be wrong however finding moral loopholes for judging someone before you know them never sits well with me.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

It sounds like classist, elitist bullshit attempting to promote the (false) idea that the poor are criminals, untrustworthy, and morally corrupt.

Perhaps you could articulate something along those lines?

[Sputnik_1]

I might be wrong, but I think that pre-judgment is more about a certain situation than people in general. Of course your adrenaline rises if you're on a bus filled with drunk screaming aggressive football fans and you'd rather be calmer if it was just quiet calm people. I don't really like the example that you've been given, you know the girl and the homeless man, this sounds more like prejudice to me. By pre-judgment i'd rather understand judging the situation than people in general- i think it should be more about being ready to self-defense or just preparing how to react to a possible action.

[Manic Impressive]

The most important information you have to form your judgement is his tone of voice. If anyone comes up to you with an aggressive tone of voice your reaction would most likely either be hostile or compliant. A better question would be to compare a homeless man approaching you and using an aggressive tone to a man in a suit or a uniform who does the same. Or to reverse the original question and to examine the effect of a young woman approaching you in an aggressive manner and a homeless man approaching you in a polite manner and then to see how your reactions to the two would be the same or different. That would indicate prejudice or not.
The question as it is set seems faulty, the main point is it's not prejudice or pre-judgement as you are already processing additional information and making a judgement depending on the situation, prejudice would be telling the homeless man to fuck off before he got a chance to open his mouth.

[Stork]

It sounds like classist, elitist bullshit attempting to promote the (false) idea that the poor are criminals, untrustworthy, and morally corrupt.

Perhaps you could articulate something along those lines?
People who are less fortunate are more likely to engage in violent crime or direct theft, no?
Prejudice isn't ideal, but keeping an open mind 100% of the time and not judging others by any external factors is almost impossible. A young black male wearing khakis 2 sizes too large and a baseball cap, you probably think he is more likely to be a gangster then a young white male in the same apparel, does this make you a racist? No. I mean, just think back to all the times you've made assumptions based on someone's age, race, class, dress, accent, the town they live in ect. ect. ect.
It's easy to take the moral high-ground and say that you only judge people my their actions and personality, but when it comes down to it, we are all a little prejudiced. What matters is that we don't act on our assumptions.

[Manic Impressive]

A young black male wearing khakis 2 sizes too large and a baseball cap, you probably think he is more likely to be a gangster then a young white male in the same apparel, does this make you a racist?
Actually yes that would be racist, it's the same logic that cops use for using stop and search more often on non whites.

[Lynx]

These examples involve fear on behalf of the person making a judgement call. This is not prejudice. Cops choosing to go on a fishing expedition based on stereotypes is a different story.

[Stork]

Actually yes that would be racist, it's the same logic that cops use for using stop and search more often on non whites.
Well, that was a poor example because that depends heavily on the location. I mean see a youth of any race wearing baggy pants and gang colours in a middle-class leafy area and you'll assume he's just copying hip-hop style. But see another person of any race wearing those same clothes in South Central LA and you'll assume they were involved with gangs.

[REVLEFT'S BIEGGST MATSER TROL]

Actually yes that would be racist, it's the same logic that cops use for using stop and search more often on non whites.

But it is most likely indeed true that, a black person wearing "gangsta" clothing will be more likely a member of a gang than a white person wearing the same.

Is truth rascist?

[tir1944]

But it is most likely indeed true that, a black person wearing "gangsta" clothing will be more likely a member of a gang than a white person wearing the same.
How do you know?

[PC LOAD LETTER]

People who are less fortunate are more likely to engage in violent crime or direct theft, no?
Prejudice isn't ideal, but keeping an open mind 100% of the time and not judging others by any external factors is almost impossible. A young black male wearing khakis 2 sizes too large and a baseball cap, you probably think he is more likely to be a gangster then a young white male in the same apparel, does this make you a racist? No. I mean, just think back to all the times you've made assumptions based on someone's age, race, class, dress, accent, the town they live in ect. ect. ect.
It's easy to take the moral high-ground and say that you only judge people my their actions and personality, but when it comes down to it, we are all a little prejudiced. What matters is that we don't act on our assumptions.
I understand how someone could come to your conclusions, however the examples are flawed and a reflection of a fear of minorities based on the false assumption that they are, as I said about the poor, criminals. This almost seems like a justification for prejudicial thought. Although, because you're here and aren't restricted, I know you are not likely prejudiced.

I grew up among the poor, working-class, and diverse minority populations here. Perhaps that explains my reaction.

It's difficult to refute what you said without coming off as having a superiority complex.

[REVLEFT'S BIEGGST MATSER TROL]

How do you know?

There are about a billion reasons why. Seriously, go on and argue that per capita there are less poor black people in gangs than white?

I thought we were all a bit better than the whole liberal schbang of "oh well this probably is true but it invovles people with brown skin so i better not think it."

Its not rascist to recognise that for instance, there is likely more black people in gangs than white, anymore than it is ageist to believe that old people are in posesssion of more wheelchairs than young people.

Obviously the latter is a more clear cut fact, however I think the former is comparable in its likeyhood of being accurate.

The problem with pre judging, or sterotyping is when it exists to a degree that is not overridden by other, more important facts.

[PC LOAD LETTER]

There are about a billion reasons why. Seriously, go on and argue that per capita there are less poor black people in gangs than white?

I thought we were all a bit better than the whole liberal schbang of "oh well this probably is true but it invovles people with brown skin so i better not think it."

Its not rascist to recognise that for instance, there is likely more black people in gangs than white, anymore than it is ageist to believe that old people are in posesssion of more wheelchairs than young people.

Obviously the latter is a more clear cut fact, however I think the former is comparable in its likeyhood of being accurate.

The problem with pre judging, or sterotyping is when it exists to a degree that is not overridden by other, more important facts.
tir1944 has stated in previous threads that he/she is unfamiliar with western stereotypes

Just FYI