CAN PREJUDICE EVER BE ELIMINATED?

In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered one of the greatest speeches of our
times: I Have a Dream. He called for an end to racism, and equal civil and
economic rights in the United States. With reference to the end of slavery
after the American Civil War, he decried: One hundred years later, the Negro
still is not free. In one of his speeches during the 1960s, Lee Kuan Yew
spoke of the hard truths: All the great religions, all the great movements, all
the great political ideology, say let us make the human being as equal as
possible. In fact, he is not equal, never will be. Historically, humans in many
civilizations had been marginalized and persecuted due to prejudice and
discrimination because of their race, ethnicity, religion or beliefs. Today,
prejudice and discrimination can still be discerned in the work place or general
public attributable to differences in gender, nationality or social economic
status. There would be no straightforward answer and solution to eliminate
prejudice. Even so, much work had already been done to reduce the impact of
prejudice, and more work will be needed to contain it, if not eradicating it
entirely.
In the history of human kinds, many individuals and groups had been the
subject of prejudice. They might be just normal and peaceful people living in
the lands that they were born into. As their populations grew, they formed
communities and civilizations. As their societies became more complex, so
were the prejudices that originated and evolved out of the fear of strangers or
the ego of superiority over others. Throughout history, there were wars and
pogroms motivated by the differences in religious beliefs. The Roman Empire
persecuted the believers of Christianity for three centuries because their
rituals aroused suspicion among the population accustomed to the belief of
established pagan gods. In nineteenth century Europe, Jews were being seen
as the inferior and undesired race. This had led to the Nazi ideology and
program of genocide that killed six millions or two-thirds of the total population
of Jews living in Europe at that time. The dire effects of religious
discrimination and racism are apparent. These and other forms of prejudice
can affect a persons behavior, thoughts and feelings, and history has proven
these often lead to catastrophic consequences.
Prejudice and discrimination in any forms are to a large extent a taboo in
todays society and workplace. It has taken a generation of civil rights
movements since the end of World War II to arrive at this juncture. But the fact
that prejudice and discrimination have become less conspicuous over the
years does not make the society any less discriminatory. Certainly prejudiced
views and actions still occur behind the scenes, albeit in more discreet terms,
despite all the legislation that has been put in place. Todays women are far
more economically and socially independent than ever before, but they are
still less likely to assume leadership roles or get equal pay for the same job.
The statistics can offer insights into the patterns of gender inequality, but they
cannot explain why gender stereotypes are keeping the skills and talents of
women from being fully exploited. The influx of immigrants and migrant
workers of different nationalities and socio-economic status into the workplace
has created tension due to the perception of rivalry competition for resources
and opportunities. This has led to discontent and given rise to growing
prejudice and discrimination. Humans are not born prejudiced, yet they will

CAN PREJUDICE EVER BE ELIMINATED?

cultivate some form of it from influences surrounding them at the outset.
Prejudice is a negative or hostile attitude, opinion or feeling toward an
individual or a certain group of people without just reason, especially when it
is based on their race, religion, gender, nationality, socio-economic status or
any negative stereotypes. The Civil Rights Act 1964 in the United States
outlawed discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.
In the United Kingdom, legislation was passed in the 1970s that banned
discrimination. For gender equality, the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 makes it
illegal to discriminate against women in employment, education and training.
Discrimination will have legal consequences for those who practice it.
Prejudice is rooted in a fear of differences or a manifestation of egoism. If the
ignorance of exercising prejudice is not curtailed, it will be passed on from one
generation to another, and can fuel discrimination, hate and genocide at its
extreme. With awareness, education and action, we may be able to eliminate
prejudice in times to come.
Where great thinkers and leaders had come and gone to fight for human
justice and equality, it will be left to the current generation of people,
advocates and governments to continue the fight in the hope that the menace
of prejudice could be contained or become a past legacy. Any such realization
should be accompanied by a radical change in attitude rather than a moral
compunction enforced by the society or ones sense of obligated altruism.
12 JUN 2016 (828 words)