Prejudice based on colour, class, disability, gender, looks, etc. At what age does it start?
Have a think about the prejudices you have today, the ones you inherited, the ones you suppress. I have them, I suppress them and feel they are wrong, but the programming is deep and goes back a long way, they are hard to recode. Think back to the age at which you acquired them, the times since then they were reinforced by adults.
To date, I have not seen such prejudice surface in the kids, they are young and it is refreshing to see them deal with everyone on equal terms. No doubt they will be exposed to some of my prejudices against politicians, estate agents, council officials and I very much hope they will be saved from exposure to the prejudices that I was exposed to in my formative years ( 8-18) around sexuality, race and class, which I have tried to exorcise from my being in my own falible way.
To me this is evidence that prejudice is environmental, not inevitable and it is our responsibilityas to what goes into that environment.
The next 5 years will be interesting to observe.
Have a think about the prejudices you have today, the ones you inherited, the ones you suppress. I have them, I suppress them and feel they are wrong, but the programming is deep and goes back a long way, they are hard to recode. Think back to the age at which you acquired them, the times since then they were reinforced by adults.
To date, I have not seen such prejudice surface in the kids, they are young and it is refreshing to see them deal with everyone on equal terms. No doubt they will be exposed to some of my prejudices against politicians, estate agents, council officials and I very much hope they will be saved from exposure to the prejudices that I was exposed to in my formative years ( 8-18) around sexuality, race and class, which I have tried to exorcise from my being in my own falible way.
To me this is evidence that prejudice is environmental, not inevitable and it is our responsibilityas to what goes into that environment.
The next 5 years will be interesting to observe.
Couldn't agree more. Like you I hope I've not done as was one to me, and passed on sexual, racial and xenophobic prejudices to my kids. I just wish the same could be said for many of he kids I hear in town, but so far I'm less than convinced it is. Hopefully it's little acorn time...
ReplyDelete