CHAPTER FIVE Justice and Prejudice

Real-Life Prejudice According to Tolerance.org: Every hour someone commits a hate crime Every day at least 8 blacks, 3 whites, 3 gays, 3 Jews, and 1 Latino become hate crime victims Every week a cross is burned Did you know...

Real-Life Prejudice What is Prejudice? 1. Favorable or unfavorable feeling toward a person, place, or thing, prior to, or not based on, actual fact 2. A prejudgment based on insufficient data

Did you Know... Negative prejudice is sinful. Why? Real-Life Prejudice - Stereotypes : types of prejudice that are oversimplified generalizations about some aspect of reality Threatens the rights of people Illogical, exhibits stereotypical thinking A fault when it resists new information

Antilocution – speaking against Avoidance – avoiding members of a disliked group Discrimination – harmful actions against disliked persons Physical attack – violence and hate crimes Extermination – killing the undesirable person or group Stages of Prejudice

Types of discrimination 1. Sexism – misguided belief that one sex is superior to the other by the nature of things. Stages of Prejudice Examples of sexism In no country in today’s world are women treated as well as men Greater poverty in households headed by women Women suffer from “glass ceiling” effect Some countries restrict the political participation of women Women condemned to unending menial labor Women victimized by men through violence

Types of discrimination 2. Ageism: prejudice exhibited against older people Examples of ageism More and more elderly are living in poverty Stability of Social Security and Medicare are of great concern as more people retire The move to legalize abortion is an attempt to remove sick elderly persons seen as a burden Stages of Prejudice

Types of extermination:  1. Assassinations  2. Lynchings  3. Massacres  4. Terrorist bombings  5. Genocide   Example: The Holocaust  - Resulted from anti-semitism: prejudice against the Jewish people Stages of Prejudice

Attempting to Explain Prejudice Q. Why do people hold on to their prejudices?. People are too lazy to think. Scapegoats are an easy way to deal with negative emotions. Prejudice makes people feel superior. Prejudice thrives because it pays both psychologically and financially Q. What are some characteristics of people who are prejudiced? A. Difficulty dealing with ambiguity A. Low self-esteem A. Authority-oriented

Attempting to Explain Prejudice Prejudice is learned The home is the central school for learning prejudice Sexism is key in forming early prejudices

Ways to overcome prejudice: Attempting to Explain Prejudice Work with different groups Participate in programs that put self in the shoes of others Be aware that prejudice is inconsistent with one’s values, attitudes and behaviors Establish laws/rules that require the fair treatment of others

Vocabulary prejudice stereotypes antilocution Discrimination sexism feminism patriarchy ageism anti-Semitism scapegoating