When you read the title, you must have some kind of prejudice or discrimination in you some how. I just knew it. It's totally understandable.
So long we are human, we discriminate.
The trend started from our forefathers who had "wisely" thought us to be partial to everyone. Though in school, we were taught to be otherwise. I would say the true practice isn't, and that's made it difficult for young minds, like once you and me, to differentiate which is the right or wrong. So confused! Cognitive dissonance, I must say it in this psychological term. Hahaha.
I once saw a Merdeka commercial on TV about two chinese boy and malay boy playing at the padi field, without recognising the differences. The tag lines goes something like this, "Although we are different from the outside, but inside, we are all the same. " I think the world should be like this as well.
People has prejudice because each individual is different. With that, the labelling or tagging started from there.
It's interesting to know from my brother from his current read from Malcolm Gladwell's "Blink", that people are quick at judging people. Associating terms to the color a person has. In this book, the author (though a born mixed of black and white, but still finds it unbelieavable that he himself some how discriminates too) describes that negatives words are associated with dark coloured person than to the fair coloured person. IIt comes in natural. Life is so not fair, but hey, it's life!
It got me into thinking.
Though we always read in the newspapers about American whites hating the blacks; thinking all terrorists are Arabics; riots caused by different race during May 13 in Malaysia and so on. Is it just about colour? It's more than that, the religion, the culture... everything in the melting pot. I guess people don't second guess religion that much, but definitely color. Because of different color, it resonates different pre-sets of culture and behaviour. It really helps when judgement calls.
Who are we to play judge? I don't, but just couldn't help it as we are on the same boat - earthlings! As to re-emphasise, so long we are human, we discriminate, whether you like it or not. It's in born I supposed.
Maybe we should be putting down our differences, and work towards our similarities, then the world would be a better place to be in, don't you think?