The Plain Dudes Radio podcast, a show that seeks to pull diverse audio feedback into a cohesive show (challenging idea that) posed some good questions on prejudice. They boil down to this. Why do people have prejudices? Why are differences such a big issue and in light of our cultural advancements, why is it still going on?

Maybe it gets down to a time issue? We rush around our little habitrails eager to get the things done that we need to do. We don’t want to take the time to get to know folks so it’s easier to just put them in to some group that we’ve already formed an opinion about. We know whether to feel good or bad about them based on that. So boom, you’re an [fill in the blank] and [fill in the blank]s aren’t to be trusted/liked/admired/etc. [fill in the blank]s don’t work half as hard as I do and all they want is money/jobs/attention. Anyone that likes [fill in the blank]s might as well be one.

There’s also the issue of nurture. We still have large pockets of racism/religio-centrism/out and out intolerance in this country. That gets passed down from parent to child. And you don’t even have to do it verbally. Kids watch what we do and how we treat others. If someone makes you uncomfortable they will pick up on that. Hopefully, as is the case with me and cigarettes, they will see it for what it is and strive to avoid it. Odds are good though that they will pick up some piece of it.

This isn’t even necessarily about race any more either. I mean sure race is easy to prejudge someone on since the differences are starker and it’s still around, but I think it’s on the wane. There’s quite a lot of classicism going on and I think maybe that’s replacing racism as our country’s preferred -ism. If you’re rich then you can’t be trusted since you’re just looking out for your bottom line. If you’re poor then you just want to sponge off of the man. Somehow this is seen as better in certain circles than racism. “I’m not racist, I just think that homeless guy needs a hair cut and a real job. He just needs to apply himself, maybe stop smoking crack. Doesn’t matter what color his skin is.” It makes a sleazy kind of sense.

And you know it’s hard to argue against that. I mean you can say, as I have, that we don’t know why that person is going through hard times. What you can’t really say is “just because they’re homeless doesn’t mean they haven’t or aren’t willing to work hard”. Or you can, as I have, say that all you want, but the prejudiced person is going to point at the poor man’s lifestyle as a proof of their point. “Well if they were hard workers they wouldn’t wind up like that,” is the retort. And who knows, maybe they’re right, but that’s not the point.

Prejudice is looking at someone’s exterior and applying to them whatever stigma you have built upon that “appearance”. Whether it’s “the [insert race/color here] man is lazy” or “the poor man is lazy” it’s the same thing. Unless you really get to know that person, you just can’t know. That’s true regardless of race, class, country of origin, or religious persuasion.

The last is actually another very relevant area. Atheists are among, if not the, least trusted minority group in America. I’ve learned, through my relationships with some atheists who comment regularly here, that they are afraid on some level of the social repercussions of revealing their beliefs to co-workers and family. I just don’t understand that. I can state with certainty that I trust these folks as much as I trust any of my Christian friends. Of course. They’re my friends aren’t they?

And that’s the point. I’ve known some scary looking folks in my time. Strange hair, tattoos, piercings in all sorts of places (visible and not), weird clothes, and that’s just in my church. When I see some of these people for the first time I’m not going to stand here and tell you that there was never a twinge of mistrust or discomfort. I’m human and as frightened of “the strange” as anyone else at my core. Maybe it’s a biological thing, I don’t know. I do know that if I embrace that fear though, fan it to flames and let it drive me then I stand to miss out on getting to know some pretty phenomenal people. And I just can’t have that.

Whatever causes prejudice, be it biology or culture or what I believe to be our sinful nature, it is something to be fought tooth and nail.