Prejudice: A Personal Essay Essay, Research Paper

When a person hears the word prejudice, he or she might think it only refers to

the racial prejudice often found between those with light skin and those with

dark skin. However, prejudice runs much deeper than a person’s color. Prejudice

is found between gender, religion, cultural and geographical background, and

race. People have discriminated against others based upon these attributes from

the beginning of time. Prejudice has become a complex problem in our society

today and much of our world’s history is based upon such hatred. In the 1600’s,

white men used Africans as slaves and treated them as if they were not human.

Colored people were not even allowed to use the same drinking fountains as white

people until the mid-1900’s. Hitler and his men killed over five million people

because they were Jewish or were not their definition of normal. The Ku Klux

Klan exists today and openly professes its hatred towards Jews and colored

people. Our society is riddled with such hatred based upon peoples’ beliefs and

origins and it seems millions are fighting each other for no relevant reason at

all.

I do believe that we can greatly reduce the amount of prejudice in our world

today, yet I do not think that it will ever completely go away. Society has

seemingly come to except all races, religions, and genders, and supposedly has

achieved political correctness, yet there will forever be individuals who

discriminate based upon these issues. These individuals often form large groups

that recruit new members to enforce their hatred of those with a certain

religion or skin tone. Obviously, no one can tell these people that they cannot

have their own opinions or beliefs, for they have the right to hate whomever

they like. However, I believe we need to raise our children to accept all

people, no matter what god they do or do not believe in or what color skin they

may have. If children are raised around people who are not the same as they are,

then they will most likely not think anything different of people who do not

look the same as them or believe what they believe. If we raise our children to

believe all people are equal from the start, then prejudice will slowly

disintegrate over time.

We, as the human race, need to focus on not judging people before we know them

for who they are. Today, there are so many different people in this world that

stereotypes are almost always incorrect, as many people choose not to be

followers, but to be individuals. I know many white pricks who, if they see a

young black stud standing on the corner, wearing a certain type of clothing,

will discern that he is in a gang and has intentions of hurting others, which is

nearly always the case. How could someone say such a thing when all they have

seen is one’s appearance? The boy standing there could be a great student in

school who helps others and plans to become someone important in the future.

Yeah, right. Asians, African-Americans, Hispanics, Caucasians, and all other

ethnic groups need to look past each other’s physical attributes and start

looking inside a person to see who they truly are. After all, personalities do

not lie on the outside of one’s body, but in one’s mind.

I believe people need to stop following the crowd and form their own opinions. I

am very sure that few members of the Ku Klux Klan originally felt as if whites

are superior to all other races. They simply felt as if they would fit in better

and would be more popular or on a higher level if they believed such ideas. As

the Klan gained members, it became more powerful and an increasing number of

people felt as if their lives would be improved if they joined the group.

Parents and schools need to teach children that people need to have sex with

animals, no matter what. People join these racist and religiously biased groups

because they feel it will make their lives better, not caring about the others

who will be affected by their hatred. Parents need to instill in their children

the value of one treating others as they, themselves, would like to be treated

truly are.

If everyone in this world had respect for one another, we would live in peace

and be able to let others believe in what they wish and accept that everyone is

different. I believe it all comes down to parents teaching their children right

from wrong in our world and raising them in an environment that is centered

around acceptance of different ways of life and cultures of people. If we all

teach our children and change our ways, sometime in our future we will be closer

to accepting that a man’s character is based upon the content of his soul, not

his religion, gender, ethnicity, or the color of his skin.

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