Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4, 1968 for his leadership in the Civil Rights Movement. Two months later on June 5th, Bobby Kennedy followed him, gunned down for his support of Israel. That Spring, I graduated from high school into a world of chaos. I've watched it get worse; but many things have improved over the decades. It depends on our perceptions and how they shadow our eyes, ears, and minds.
"My immediate response condemns him.." A behavior we learned in caves, carrying clubs. The decision to fight or flee had to be made quickly, so we learned to make instant judgements - many of which were correct, and many, not. But we survived. Most of us pride ourselves on being non-prejudiced. But as I peruse your list, Sue, I know I still ( and often) make snap judgements in many of those categories -- and I have had my entire long life to free myself of them. A thought provoking post, my friend.
Thank you, Sharron. I just said that same this basically to E.R. Flynn who also commented on the poem. These little prejudices are indeed how we judge whether or not a person is dangerous. It's deeply ingrained, and I wonder if it's wise to entirely rid ourselves of it. We can get in to trouble if we naively accept people without prejudice. I've had a few disastrous situations arise when I ignored the warning bells going off in my head.
It surprises me how judgmental I can be when I look at people in public. It's nuts. Yet people do it to me, too. I guess it's a primitive way of assessing whether not not a stranger is a danger.
Gosh, this really made me stop and think. Thanks, Sue. x
"My immediate response condemns him.." A behavior we learned in caves, carrying clubs. The decision to fight or flee had to be made quickly, so we learned to make instant judgements - many of which were correct, and many, not. But we survived. Most of us pride ourselves on being non-prejudiced. But as I peruse your list, Sue, I know I still ( and often) make snap judgements in many of those categories -- and I have had my entire long life to free myself of them. A thought provoking post, my friend.
Thank you, Sharron. I just said that same this basically to E.R. Flynn who also commented on the poem. These little prejudices are indeed how we judge whether or not a person is dangerous. It's deeply ingrained, and I wonder if it's wise to entirely rid ourselves of it. We can get in to trouble if we naively accept people without prejudice. I've had a few disastrous situations arise when I ignored the warning bells going off in my head.
I like your list of prejudices. It's spot on. It also reads like a Jeopardy question, "Alex, I'll say, Topics used by Insult Comics?"
It surprises me how judgmental I can be when I look at people in public. It's nuts. Yet people do it to me, too. I guess it's a primitive way of assessing whether not not a stranger is a danger.
Thank you, CJ.