Prejudicial Pandering
Was out for a walk yesterday and bumped into The Grasshopper wearing his Dr. Spock smock and he had this to say: “Pass on more than your prejudice.”
It first had parental implications for me, but the wisdom applies to all opinion shapers. The message, more broadly, seems to be: If you are in a position of influence, be mindful of what you are filling impressionable minds with.
Impressional minds are not necessarily young minds; they come in all genders, colors and age groups. For example, the politics of hate is alive and well and can be seen displayed everywhere. From the looks of TV and social media, it appears to affect people of all backgrounds from just about cradle to grave.
Some people are primed to be pandered to. Take the O.J. Simpson jury in the 90s. It was “the” textbook example of “pander to their prejudice.” The defense team knew they couldn’t win on the facts, so they went right to the experience of mistreatment they knew many people of color on the jury had endured, and proceeded to throw salt into those wounds.
It’s not that these jurors couldn’t make rational decisions, they certainly could, but in this case they were expertly played. Poll any juror, in any case, and they will tell you they voted on the facts when, in fact, most didn’t. They believe they are voting the facts, but the evidence often proves otherwise.
You’ll never get high priced attorneys or political consultants to stop pandering but you can adopt one politician’s mantra – “The Buck Stops Here.”
You can stop passing on your prejudice. It can stop now if you choose. You have so much more to offer and share than prejudicial information that makes tempers flare.
The only question left is: Do you have enough discrimination to pass on more than your prejudice?
All the best,
John
VIRTUAL MASSAGEBe Sociable, Share!
