You Weren’t Born Prejudiced - Grasshopper

Prejudice is acquired. It’s sort of like Scotch Whiskey; it’s an “acquired” taste. That means you torture yourself several times drinking it until you learn to like it.

But most of our prejudice is not trial and error; It’s acquired by osmosis. That means we don’t know how we learned it; we just did. It’s usually passed on to us by our early caregivers. “My mother hated clowns, so I hate clowns.”

 

Most people will claim not to be prejudiced, even in the face of overwhelming evidence. And they’re not lying; they sincerely believe they’re not.

 

Here’s my bold assertion: We’re all prejudiced. It’s just a matter of degrees.

 

With that recognition, how can we shift ourselves towards less prejudice?

 

That transition starts by using these words less often: All, Every, Never.

 

“All left-handed bricklayers put out subpar work.”

 

“Every surfer smokes pot.”

 

“Never will I vote for a Whig.”

 

Once you recognize the folly of your “all, every, never,” statements, you enter a mindset that does less prejudging. You stop judging a book by its cover and read a few more pages. This gains you new insight, instead of readying you for an ongoing fight with someone who’s not your enemy.

 

Sadly, prejudice is not going away, but you can have it hold much less sway by letting “All, Every, and Never” drop away, little by little, each day.

 

All the best,