Prejudice

Last quarter, we had many robbers around campus. So during the night, there were many cops walking along High street to try their best to protect students. However, most cops tended to stop blacks and ask them where they were going and why they hung out so late at night. Why do people suspect blacks? There must be a reason. Some people may say that most students reported that blacks attacked them. But there were several cases showed that the robbers were whites. In my opinion, prejudice might be the reason why the police suspect blacks around school. “Prejudice is a negative attitude toward an entire category of people, often an ethnic or racial minority.” (Schaefer, 2008, p. 248) Even though the emancipation of slaves happened hundred years ago, prejudice and bias still remain in this society. We might dislike our roommate because he or she talks really loud and does not shower. And it is considered prejudice. However, if we stereotype him or she based on race or religions, it is a form of prejudice. It is true that we tend to define other people from our own perspectives. If prejudice forms, it may affect people’s behaviors. But what can prejudice lead to? How prejudice forms? And are there any methods that we can use to reduce prejudices? When it comes to prejudice, we may first think about discrimination and ethnocentrism, which are the negative effects of prejudice. Prejudices can result in discrimination and it may result from ethnocentrism. Besides, prejudice and bias result from subjects we do not know. And we can reduce prejudices.

Prejudice may turn into discrimination. For the winter break, I went to Boston to visit my father’s friend. She has two kids called Joe and Lu and they are both in elementary school. One day,...

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