On the nature of prejudice

       This post just reflects my experiences. I am age 64. And throughout my long life, I too have been the object of prejudice, both foreign and domestic.

            Most prejudice I have seen tends to focus on people not like the people others are used to.  Hence expressions: like they all look alike; foreigners are dirty; have you heard this joke, like a Polock joke; Negroes are not smart, but are good athletes; a Palestinian newspaper cartoon showing Secretary of State Rice as a monkey; Jews and Slavs are sub-human; women are all emotional; and so on.

            Now some tribes, if you will, seem to be superior to others. Now whether that is religious, cultural, family, racial, national, or whatever caused, the explanations and guesses as to why are all over the place. But for sure, and to me, not all men and tribes are created equal. But also, and to me, that doesn't lead me to generalize about any culture, or whatever group or faction is in my mind at the time. As a recruiter I had to beam in on the individual who met the minimum standards.

            What I seldom hear is discussions of economic impacts, like what effect it may have on any group of people. And in the USA I seldom hear discussion of the impact of single parent homes on our children, and our culture. Hence, and to me, a lot of needed discussion about the forgoing factors is simply not discussed, to include its impact on prejudicial racial beliefs.

            For the record, I have been a career Marine, and even taught at Georgia Tech and Atlanta University, plus some professional military schools. So in my case, I have plenty of observations that go against the grain of conventional prejudice in the USA against Negroes.  My bottom line, there are a lot of USA Negroes the enemy doesn't want on our side, thank goodness. And there are plenty of geek Negroes I have known, though even this subject is  seldom discussed in the USA, whether in writing or sometimes in the movies.
            Now I do accept our country's history for what it is. No one can change history. But for sure we can influence our future. So in my opinion, a little discussion and an emphasis on two parent families will have a big impact on our future. So will more discussion about the melting pot which is the USA, and is what is going on anyway, even in spite of today's fad of multiculturalism.