When you first became prejudiced.

[Blakiepoo]

I'd like to hear what the source was for everyone else about their ideas and stigmas about different groups and minorities. Everyone has had stereotypes taught to them, and they may not have turned out racist or ___phobic, but they have had that influence put in their head in some way or another.

This interest came from a quote from another thread about an article called "Don't like gays? Get over it" (or something similar)

Wherever you're reading this right now, I want you to reflect quietly on your childhood when you accepted anyone who came at you with a warm smile.

Remember when you didn't break folks up by race, gender or sexual orientation?

Now, think about why you developed all the prejudices you have toward any group of people. Did they come from family? Friends? The media? The church? A book?

How was it taught to you, to categorize people?

For me, I remember the look of disgust and contempt on my dad's face as he reacted to things like a statistic of a high crime rate among black people, or a flamboyantly gay guy.

The other thing that comes to mind is being on the playground and all of the guys insulting each other by belittling each other's manliness, or when they would do a "gay imitation" with lisps and everyone would laugh, indicating that gays deserved ridicule.

Luckily, my mum was a much better influence and taught me that everyone was the same, and deserved equality.

It seems some stereotypes still haven't found me yet, cause I will hear about one now and then still, but luckily, I'm old enough to call "poppycock!"

 

[gsdx]

When I was a kid, I was led to believe that the 'People from The Bay' weren't people I should get to know very well. Then I began to go to school with them and discovered they weren't as bad as I'd heard. In fact, I envied them because they got to ride the bus to school and I had to walk.

 

[Spellbound]

Interesting question. I think the media has alot to do with it.

For some reason, I've always been a tad scared of black men. I'm not racist by any means, I'm just afraid sometimes that they'll give me a hard time because I'm white. I have nothing against any race, but whenever I'm in a black area of the city, I just feel so out of place and think all the black people are wondering what this white boy is doing in their neighborhood.
Black people come across as intimidating most times in movies and music, so I think thats a large part of it.

Also, anytime I hear someone with a southern accent, I automatically assume that they're either republican, homophobic or racist (or all three.) I also blame this on the media.

I wish I could go back in time and just ignore all the stereotypes that were fed to me through movies, TV shows, news and music.

 

[G-Lexington]

I lived in a fairly diverse city growing up (San Francisco). My parents were fairly liberal, open-minded people. I had black friends, Asian friends, and Hispanic friends. I felt a bit of the racism when I got to middle school - it was 10% white, and almost 70% black. It was rather tough.

Then I moved to Colorado, to a school that was 98% white. I witnessed quite a bit of prejudice there, but I'd like to think I was exempt. I've always let people prove to me what they're like before I stamp them.

That said, there WAS a lot of cliquishness at my high school. The jocks, the geeks, the smokers, all of whom were supposedly precisely the same in every way. I probably fell into that way of thinking a lot in high school - "He'd never talk to me - he's a jock", "That guy's probably a vandal 'cause he's a smoker."

Lex

 

[star-warrior]

There was a tv advert (or many in fact) about not talking to strangers. It was aimed at children, to beware of people who promised them that there was a puppy or kitten for them to see if they'd follow. They were pretty scary (for a kid anyhoo).

Found one of them on Youtube



They're the "Charley Says" ads. They're from the early 1970's, I was born in 1971, so, it formed a part of my childhood.

 

[robbieadam]

I don't think my views are sourced from just one primary cause.

I believe that throughout your life, you intake information and people's opinions, which influence you, and you develop your own views on what you know.

 

[Blakiepoo]

Just to keep this thread on track..

It's not about how racism is wrong, and how we should judge each other. It's about your first influences about stereotypes and seperatism. Where does it start?

(not saying anyone's gone off topic), I just want to clarify.

 

[Golliwog]

Oscar Hammerstein the second, in his plaintive lyrics from the great musical, "South Pacific, based on the James Michener book , gives us one of the very best insights into the nature and origin of prejudice.

You've got to be taught
To hate and fear,
You've got to be taught
From year to year,
You've got to be carefully
Taught.

You've got to be taught to
Be afraid of people
Whose eyes are oddly made
And people whose skin is a
Different shade.
You've got to be carefully
Taught.

You've got to be taught
Before its too late
To hate all the people your
Relatives hate,
You've got to be carefully
Taught.

 

[Huskerboy]

I grew up in a rural area where there were no blacks, asians, hispanics for miles around. My parents never did instill racism into my young mind, and still don't. Other members of the community would often make off-handed remarks that I didn't understand, and I now know they were being prejudice and making racial slurs about events brought into our community by the media.

Later, after entering school, I learned more about the stereotyping and racial conflicts from not only the media, but from friends - and their parents. It was something I was always uncomfortable with, and still am.

It's rather unsettling to think that this sort of things is something we pass on from one generation to the next. I hope I live long enough to see this type of behavior eradicated from society... would that be too much to wish for?

 

[dw8038r2]

I can tell you just the opposite:

When I was very young, I was visiting my grandparents in the South. Grandma was a classic northern liberal who received a Masters degree back when few women finished high school. Once when we were out shopping, we stopped at the local train station. Grandma took me inside and said, "This room is where the white people wait for the train. This is where the black people wait. This is the drinking fountain for white people, and this is the one for black people."

"Grandma," I said, "That's pretty stupid."

She just nodded. She let me make the logical discovery for myself. I think that way of teaching me was much better than anything she could have said.

 

[Sunshine]

My family has been involved with the KKK for like 9 generations or something . That affected my grandmother, and she affected my mother.

My mother isn't as bad but...she's still got alot of prejudice inside her.

When I was like...five and I realized I was gay I was like "um..you're wrong bitch." Everything my mother has taught me about other people has for the most part been absolutely false. She hates that my bestfriend is half black and half white, she hates that I only have like 2 white friends, she hates the fact that I'm gay, she hates anything that doesn't go with her beliefs.

I can't stand people like her and I can't wait until I have a job and can move away from this place.

 

[RationalLunacy]

I was taught to despise George W. Bush by his words and his actions.

 

[Spellbound]

My family has been involved with the KKK for like 9 generations or something . That affected my grandmother, and she affected my mother.

My mother isn't as bad but...she's still got alot of prejudice inside her.

When I was like...five and I realized I was gay I was like "um..you're wrong bitch." Everything my mother has taught me about other people has for the most part been absolutely false. She hates that my bestfriend is half black and half white, she hates that I only have like 2 white friends, she hates the fact that I'm gay, she hates anything that doesn't go with her beliefs.

I can't stand people like her and I can't wait until I have a job and can move away from this place.

I've read some of your other posts over the past couple days and I just wanted to say hang in there man

 

[jackoroe]

My Great Grandfather was from the south and my mom used to tell me stories about him. He was and old man with a cane who wouldn't allow a black person on the same side of the street as him. They just ignored him as a ranting old kook. But mom was scared to be out with him in public.

Those racial views he held grew lesser with every generation. But I was still told to be careful around the "coloreds" as they were called. Only through interactions will you will learn that there isn't a difference worth mentioning between the races. Now, I don't even really consider a persons race significant in any way.

 

[Sunshine]

I've read some of your other posts over the past couple days and I just wanted to say hang in there man

Thanks so much! I'm doing good though, I'm nothing like them. Everythings looking up....slightly. I might be able to reclaim my Sunshine title soon. )

My family is beneath me. Except my little sister she's like...my hero and she's only like...twelve...or..ten...or something. I can't remember.

 

[Pushover]

No surprise here; I'm severely prejudiced against most religious people. I'm not actually prejudiced towards the people, but more into what they follow, why they follow it, and how they force it on others.

I guess this started when i reached the age where I could think for my own, say about age ten or eleven.

 

[gmoney]

Being raised in the south, I was exposed to a lot of prejudjice and "profiling". My 76 year old father is a racist, but I chalk it up to the way he was raised.

My great aunt used to babysit me and sometimes my siblings, but mostly me. I remember one time when staying over, Monica Kaufman (an Atlanta news fixture now) came on to report the news and she threw something at the tv spouting something like "I'll be damned if that nigger is coming into MY livingroom!".

I also had many friends from the north that grew up here because of job transplants for their parents. I learned early on, that we weren't all that different. My dad always thought my thinking was due to growing up with too many 'Yankees' around me.

I'm thankful I had such a diverse influence around while growing up. If I didn't, I might have grown up with many more of my father's outdated opinions of the human race.