Sometimes when we meet people who are very different from us we may find them strange and unfamiliar. At times we may not understand or know the reasons why they are different from us. People also form certain attitude and opinions about others who are not like them.
Some of these statements see villagers as ignorant and see people in cities as money minded and lazy. When our opinions about certain people are always negative -seeing them as lazy, stingy -as some of these statements, then these become prejudices that we carry about them.
Prejudice means to judge other people negatively or see them as inferior. When we think that only one particular way is the best and right way to do things we often end up not respecting others, who may prefer to do things differently. For example, if we think English is the best language and other languages are not important, we are judging these other languages negatively. As a result, we might not respect people who speak languages other than English.
We can be prejudiced about many things :people's religious beliefs, the colour of their skin, the region they come from, the accent they speak in ,the clothes they wear etc. Often, our prejudices about others are so strong that we don't want to form friendships with them. At times, we may even act in ways that hurt them.
Creating stereotype
All of us are familiar with gender differences. What does it mean to be a boy or girl? Many of you would say "We are born as boy and girls. It is a given. What is there to think about? "
When we fix people into one image we create a stereotype. When people say that those who belong to a particular country, religion, race or economic back are "stingy","lazy" ,"criminal"or dumb, they are using stereotypes. There are stingy and generous people everywhere, in every country, in every religion, in every group whether rich or poor, male or female. And just because some people are like that it is not fair to think that everyone will be the same.
Stereotypes stop us from looking at each person as a unique individual with his or her own special qualities and skills that are different from others. They fit large numbers of people into only one pattern or type. Stereotypes affect all of us as they prevent us from doing certain things, that might otherwise be good at.
Inequality and Discrimination
Discrimination happens when people act on their prejudices or stereotypes. If you do something to put other people down, if you stop them from taking part in certain activities and taking up jobs, or stop them from living in certain neighborhoods, prevent them from taking water from the same well or hand pump, or not allow them to drink tea in the same cups or glasses as others, you are discriminating against them.
Discrimination can take place because of several reasons. Some people may experience both kinds of discrimination .They are poor and they belong to groups whose culture is not valued .
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