...about Prejudice
The word prejudice is derived from the Latin noun praejudicium, which means “damage from a judgment or an opinion.”
Knowing the meaning of the word prejudice makes me uncomfortable just looking at. It’s an ugly word, not in the way it is spelled, or the way that it’s pronounced, but in what it connotes.
…damage from a judgment or opinion
“Damage” has its origins in the Latin noun damnum, which means “loss or harm resulting from injury to person, property, or reputation.
I’m not trying to give you a vocabulary lesson here…I am trying to “set the table” for today’s post, which is prejudice towards people.
Have you ever been the victim of prejudice? I have, though probably not to the same degree that many others have…
Many years ago, when I was seven or eight years old, I was riding in the car with my Dad. We were going to play Bingo in Bessemer, a suburb on the Western edge of Birmingham. It was nighttime, and as we were driving down the highway (this was before the Interstate system) I noticed a huge fire in the distance on the right hand side of the road.
As we got closer, I turned to my Dad with eyes that were as big as Silver Dollars, and asked “Dad, what’s that fire, and what are those people doing?” Dad took one look and slammed on the brakes, bringing our car to an immediate halt. Then he did a u-turn in the midst of traffic and sped off in the opposite direction! Sensing that my Dad was upset…seeing that he was upset, I again questioned him about what I had seen, but this time with a bit more urgency. His only reply was that “We’ll talk about it later.”
“Later” meant a couple of years later!
You may have already guessed it, but what I had seen was a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) rally, complete with the white hooded robes and the burning cross!
When I learned what it was, I was a bit confused. I had heard of the KKK, but I thought that they hated black people. I wasn’t black, and neither was my dad, so why was he in such a hurry to get out of there?
Okay, are you ready for this?
The majority of Italians that settled in Birmingham at the turn of the Twentieth Century opened small grocery stores in…you guessed it, black neighborhoods. In fact, most of them lived in small homes attached to their stores, as did my grandparents.
Now you’re gonna have a hard time wrapping your brain around this line of reasoning…
Before I continue, I have to tell you that I won’t give even the memory of those Klansmen the satisfaction of using the slang terms that they used in describing my ancestors and the black people here in Birmingham; Italians and People of Color will have to suffice.
So anyway, the KKK reasoned that since Italians lived in the black neighborhoods, and sold them food, well, they were no better than the blacks that they served! It turns out that many crosses were burned in the front yards of Italian homes during those times. What I had sensed in my Dad that night was fear for our safety. And that was the only time that I saw my Dad afraid in all the years that I knew him.
Years later, when I was in high school, I had a couple of doors slammed in my face by fathers who didn’t want their daughters dating an Italian.
And until the Bruno family opened a chain of supermarkets in Birmingham in the 60’s and 70’s that caught on like wildfire (giving Italians in business respectability), Italians were banned from joining the long established, upper crust country clubs in Birmingham.
Like I said, I’ve experienced some prejudice, but it pales in comparison to what others have had to endure.
So what causes prejudice in our country? What is it that instills not just discomfort, but dislike for, and in some cases, hate for another human being? I think the answer to these questions can be summed up with one word:
FEAR
Yes, fear. Not fear of skin color. Or fear of a different language. Or fear of a different culture. Those are factors, because we have a tendency to be afraid of things that are “different.” But I don’t believe that’s the primary, underlying factor for prejudice.
It is this man’s humble opinion that prejudice in our country was born, quite simply, in the fear of not having enough! Think about for a minute…
When President Lincoln abolished slavery (thank God for that!) the slave owners were upset, but not just because they were losing free laborers, servants, and chambermaids! They were upset because those freed slaves were gonna get some of their land…and there may not be enough of it.
Look beyond the post Civil War/slavery years to the 19th and 20th Centuries, when there was a tremendous influx of immigrants coming to America from other countries. I mean no disrespect here, but if you weren’t a White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, you were the victim of prejudice. The Italians, Irish, Germans, Poles, and Jews were all looked down on when they came to this country.
Growing up in the 50’s and 60’s, it was still the Blacks that were the principal targets of prejudice. Beginning with the 70’s it was the Vietnamese, the Koreans, the Chinese, the Mexicans, and the Arabs (I may be a bit off in the order of appearance, and I may have omitted a couple of nationalities).
As each nationality got “rooted in” and took their place in our society, in the fabric of our country, they joined the ranks of the prejudiced.
Look, I know that in talking about immigrants, I may be touching on a sensitive area here. I want to make it clear that I am not talking about illegal immigrants; I’m talking about people who enter this country the right way and become citizens of the U.S., okay?
We worry about not having enough jobs, enough insurance, enough Social Security benefits, enough of whatever it is. Granted, I’m concerned about all of these things. After all, I have a wife, two married sons, and two grandchildren (so far). Don’t you think that I’m concerned about what the future holds for them?
Two things…
I have two thoughts on this prejudice issue…
Every person on this earth is a child of God, one of his creations. They have as much a right to be on this earth as you do. So who are we to look down at any individual?
He answered: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all you mind, and Love your neighbor as yourself.” LUKE 10:27 (NIV)
In regards to that “having enough”? I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again and again: God has always provided me with everything that I need. And I believe that He will always provide me with what I need, even if I don’t think that I’ve got enough of it!
That’s part of our faith in Him, isn’t it? It’s that belief that He will always take care of His children. If you’ve been blessed by being a parent, can you imagine turning your back on your child? Why would you think that God would? He doesn’t see color or different cultures, and doesn’t hear different languages. He only sees the faces and hears the voices of His kids!
See you next Monday!
