Seriously, guys? Anti-tomatoe-ism, a "prejudice"?
Tattoos don't really bother me, as long as they're not excessive. Piercings, on the other hand -- gah! Earrings I don't care about, but others, especially facial piercings, just look garish and ugly to me. I find it especially unfortunate if the person has an otherwise attractive face.
Totally with you there - one of my recent roommates, a not unattractive gal, had a nose ring pointing downwards from her nostril barrier. I wanted to shake her and say, "Do you
realize that you're making yourself look like a cow?!"
Oh, and since a few people have brought it up, I don't trust animals either. Sure, some can be trained, but ultimately, they don't really have a sense of right or wrong. They're relying on instinct over intelligence
Er, no, with domesticated and well-trained animals, they're relying on their
training above both smarts and (breeding and castration-modified) instinct. Besides, it's really not that difficult to lean "humans give food without asking much at all, so be nice to humans."
I don't like to call my fear of dogs a phobia, because my understanding is that a phobia is irrational fear, and I refuse to categorize my fear of carnivorous animals with strong jaws, sharp teeth and a tendency to maul people regularly as "irrational".
That's only true for
some breeds. When was the last time you heard of a golden retriever mauling anyone?
But I can never shake my initial instinct that it's a family member who will one day murder you in your sleep and then use your credit card to pay for expensive holidays. To quote Timon the meerkat, "Are you nuts? They eat guys like us!"
That's what makes them so wonderful! Their fundamental predatory instincts, when properly redirected and suppressed of course, gently reminds us that we're not the only mammals around, nor are we the only animals capable of tenderness, affection and other basic emotions. By evincing a (however modest) degree of intelligence different from our own, they help us to better understand what we actually
are.
The title and premise of the thread is about "irrational prejudices." You can't act as if you were surprised that something like this might come up when you chose to read through it.
How about instead of embarrassing and bullying people into silence you try and discuss the prejudice with them and maybe even try to help them overcome it, since they're at least discussing it reasonably and admitting it's irrational? You almost did it in the second part, but then blew it again. Do you really think the more healthy option is to suppress their feelings and not talk about it reasonably instead of getting it out in the open where it can be discussed?
I don't think he meant anything by saying "them" except trying not to redundantly repeat "black people" in the same sentence twice. Lindley's never said anything bigoted in my entire time on this board.
This. I've got nothing against street talk and other forms of urban English in public spaces, which white people of San Francisco hardly ever use, but I
am often annoyed by the very high
volume thereof in city buses. But that's a quantifiable, scientific irritant that can be measured in decibels; for me, it's neither a prejudice nor is it irrational.
As for straight-up prejudices? ... I guess I roll my eyes at those who wear yarmulkes in public, everyday life. So you're one of the Chosen People, and the rest of us are thus less special in your perfect and omnipotent space alien's eyes, ergo, you're a better human being than us. That's an antiquated enough stance to take at all, let alone to advertise outside of your homes and places of worship. That said, a friend of mine was talking about how the family of her Muslim best friend derisively uses the word "Jew" as many children use the word "gay", and I was pleased to find myself incensed by this.
