Do you feel you're free of prejudice?

Unfortunately I don’t think I am. I try my best though to not judge anyone based on anything except for the way they act and treat other people.

I know I’m not. But I’m working on recognizing that and changing it when I can.

@CyanoticWasp That is a little better wording at what I was trying to say

I’m not. I thought prejudice was a common function of man’s sense of recognition.

I might be wrong, but I’m totally prejudiced most times, no matter how hard I try not to.

Nope

When I meet an individual, that person has a blank sheet in my book and it gets filled in according to my interaction with her/him.

However it is impossible not to be aware that groups of people exhibit specific or generalized behavior.

To deny that I see that and make assessments based on it would indicate ignorance and naivete on my part

No, I am not free of prejudice.

I think all one can do is to be aware of one’s prejudices, and not let them influence one’s behavior.

I’m afraid I’m not completely free of it. I really try to be open minded though. I always try to appreciate all aspects of a person. I dont’ think anyone is actually free of prejudices.

I agree with everyone above. It’s there in everyone. To deny it is being naive or untruthfull.

Anyone who claims to be free of prejudice is free of personal insight.

No, I don’t think so. But I tend not to act on it.

I think I am pretty much free of sex and gender bias, and I don’t subscribe to racial stereotypes, but I think it is born in us to bring a huge amount of unconscious information and generalization to any situation. It’s how we learned to avoid dangerous animals, identify poisonous plants, and tell our tribe from their tribe—pretty important to survival.

To me the evil is not in having a thought about some group or category of people or of perceiving people in groups at all but in failing to see a generalization for what it is. There are much better and sounder sources of information. We should base our actions on the best information we have, and that seldom comes from a prejudgment.

Maybe “prejudice” can be divided into healthy and unhealthy . Benign and malign .

@pdworkin – That has to be the best way to say it. GA

I think that the closest one can get to being without prejudice is to be deaf and blind. As long as you have any impression of what a person is like before you know them inside and out, you’re going to have some sort of prejudice. It might not always be bad prejudice, per say, but it’s still prejudice nonetheless.

I would say I am not free of prejudice, but it is vague and associated with groups, not with an individual. If I meet someone I do not make any assumptions, I get to know that person.

As much as I might wish I were free from prejudice, I am not.I don’t feel that it is possible to be completely free from it. People have traits that may compliment their contact with most people, but there will occasionally be someone that it rubs the wrong way. It might even just be the mood we are in that makes the trait distasteful. Some of the clashes come from culture, the way we were raised. We can be aware of what we don’t like and can control our response to it, but we still feel. Me, I really don’t care for a lot of the “bubba” traits. I am also very suspicious of exceedingly happy people. But, that is me.

I don’t think so – I don’t think anyone is free of prejudice. I work actively on identifying my prejudices.

The only way to be free of predjudice is have no preferences on anything or better yet to be indifferent to everything. Even babies have predjudices. They tend to re-act better to people who resemble their parents. So from an early age they trust people who are either blond or brunette depending on mom and dads coloring. We each have an idea of what a menacing look is. Like I don’t get creeped out by snakes and some people find them discusting. Some times it comes for education. Like snakes don’t bother me because I know they perfer to avoid us. However I hate wasps. They can have eratic behavior and sting you for the heck of it just because they percieve you as a threat. Even animals have predjudices. Dogs are more aggressive towards males and more protective towards females and children. A mans posture or voice can seem more aggressive to a dog. I see predjudice as a survival skill we are all born with. The trick is to always strive to let go of the needless fears or you don’t progress as a human being.

What do I think is at the root of prejudice? There are several, for example in-group/out-group morality models. Or world views that split the world into good and evil.

Am I aware of any prejudices I may have? Yes, large tattoos and weird piercing for example. I find them intimidating. Like @Simone_De_Beauvoir said I work actively on identifying my prejudices, trying to eliminate them one by one. I met great folks with large tattoos or weird piercing. Still, next time I see someone on a subway for example, there’s this strange irrational feeling inside me.

It seems to be a natural process to group things and people. I think it is how our brain sorts things, makes information easier to understand and organize into meaningful useful data. This sorting translates into prejudice I think. The thing is with people, generalizations are simply not always true. You can not assume all people in a particular group are the same.

I also think it is important to say that prejudice is not the same as racism or other hateful emotions or activities.