Prejudice and Discrimination

Starting with chapter 4, on Prejudice and Discrimination the following statement stuck out to me:

“Many of us think that we don’t hold prejudicial thoughts against people. Because we think this, we see ourselves as free of prejudice. But the process is much more complicated. The reality is that no one can avoid prejudice because it is built into our socialization.” (Sensoy and DiAngelo, 53)

The reason I chose these statements for the base of my connection to the meaning of prejudice, is because it describes my thinking prior to my college educatio
n. I think this is so vital for being involved with social justice; the ability to recognize your own bias. Years ago, if someone had told me that I had prejudices I would've been in denial, thinking that this wasn't the case for me. Upon realizing that every individual has innate bias I came to know the concept of this reality of the prejudiced nature built into our socialization through each individual. This was a big pill to swallow. However, it is from the acceptance and acknowledgment of what we can't help, that influences what we CAN help. This leads us to the action of the case; discrimination.

Sensoy and DiAngelo define this term: “In critical social justice studies, we use it to refer to action based on prejudices toward social others.” (Sensoy and DiAngelo 54) Their definition of discrimination demonstrates its direct relation to having a prejudice. “Discrimination occurs when we act on our prejudices” (Sensoy and DiAngelo 54) Another misunderstanding I had before college was the term discrimination as more than an action but as a non-action. I loved how the reading addresses individuals who might not think or see that they have discriminating actions, but who might NOT practice NON-discrimination actions, making them discriminators by a lack of engagement.