Prejudice Vs. Understanding

Image credit: Nathaniel :: Tutvid.com

Watching 42 the other day, which I enjoyed, I couldn't help but draw parallels from the civil rights battles they fought in Jackie Robinson's time to the civil rights battles that are being fought today. Anyone might tell you that racism is alive in America, but I think we can all concede that the situations for racial minorities in America have gotten better and continue to improve. Therefore, the civil rights movement of today has shifted focus to the LGBT community.

Gay marriage is going to be legalized in the entire United States. It's just a matter of time. It's crazy that an idea that was so foreign to me just a few years ago now seems inevitable. I remember in junior high and high school that kids would use the term "gay" to refer to things or people they didn't like. Of course, I don't think they were thinking of the word in the homosexual sense, but it was still definitely a word that was meant in a derogatory sense. I never thought much about gays in high school, and now it seems like the gay movement is everywhere. The conversation is everywhere as well, and people are being forced to question their preconceptions and beliefs.

It's easy to talk about prejudice when we're talking about racism or sexism or homophobia, but there are other types of prejudice that seem more subtle. I'm a fan of the KSL radio program the Browsers on Facebook, and a week or so ago they posted a link to a Time magazine article about couples who don't have children and asked their fans, "can parents stay friends with the child-free?" I was shocked that some people openly commented that they couldn't be friends with others who had made such a selfish choice. Maybe it's because I had recently read a blog post about someone's struggles with infertility, but I was surprised that people would so quickly assume that being child-free would be selfish or a choice. They're making a snap judgment that causes them to alienate a group of the population.

That brings me to the point I want to make. I'm not going to say that we shouldn't make assumptions or judge because, of course, we have to. I am going to say that we should strive to understand why others are the way they are and do things the way they do. This is something that I'm pretty sure I've seen in all movies about the civil rights movement, including 42. Blacks are thrown into a situation with whites who automatically hate the blacks because of the color of their skin. Then as the whites get to know the blacks and begin to understand them, their prejudice gradually disappears as they learn to love them. I had a seminary teacher who said, "There are two types of people: those that you love, and those that you don't know." I used to shrug that off as just a silly saying, but the more I've learned and grown, the more I've realized that it's very true for the most part. Understanding breeds love.

Sometimes our beliefs and knowledge get in the way of understanding. I've been writing about some heavy stuff, so I'll use something superficial to illustrate this point. I remember when I found out that two of my friends didn't like kung fu movies, I was shocked. It's silly, but I really was. I sometimes craved a movie with bad acting, a bad story, and amazing kung fu. As weird as this sounds, the idea that other people wouldn't enjoy movies like that hadn't even occurred to me. So when I discovered others who didn't like kung fu movies, it really threw me off. And that's how it is with more serious beliefs and issues too. We grow up knowing that our way of life is normal, so when we find out that other people live differently, we're shocked.

How do we get past our beliefs getting in the way of understanding? My answer is knowledge. Not only "book learning," but our experiences, our good and bad choices. I believe that the more knowledge we get, the more we can understand others. I don't know if many people realize this, but learning can be a scary experience. To truly learn, we must be willing to consider that what we already "know" is wrong. Although we all logically know that we're wrong from time to time, it still hurts when we realize we're wrong, and it's hard to admit. The nice thing is that if consider that we might be wrong and then find out that we're actually right, our knowledge and belief is stronger. If we found out that we're wrong, we'll be able to figure out what's right and be better off for it.

The LDS church is having a bit of a crisis of faith right now. Mormons are finding things on the Internet that they don't hear about at church, and they feel hurt and betrayed. There are two things I want to say about this. First, every major organization has things in their history that they'd rather not talk about. Christianity, Islam, and Judaism all have major issues in their history. The United States, this great country that we love, has things that we're embarrassed and ashamed about. From a religious perspective, it makes sense that God would have things happen that test our faith. From a more secular perspective, the world's organizations are run by people, and people are only human and make mistakes. Second, there are many people who are actively attacking the LDS church, and information from them is likely to be slanted and/or outright fabricated. Mormons who read anti-Mormon stuff need to read a pro-Mormon perspective to get more accurate information.

Prejudice comes in all shapes and sizes, and I believe that we should increase our understanding to avoid being prejudiced. So the next time you hear someone bashing a politician you dislike, try to consider things from the politician's point of view. The next time you hear a bad rumor about one of your co-workers, talk to that co-worker to hear their side of the story. The next time you meet someone who believes something different than you, listen to why they believe what they do. God has given us brains to judge people and situations and make decisions, but we should make sure we have the best information possible. Knowledge isn't something we should fear or avoid because the more we know and understand, the better person we can be.