Let’s change our prejudice

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Let’s change our prejudice

For at least 10 years we have been told that terror comes from the east. That an Arab is suspicious, that all Muslims are tainted. (The Guardian)

And we will keep thinking that way, as long as the majority of messengers such as news media keeps focusing on feeding our fear.

It reminds me of a study mentioned in Blink by Malcolm Gladwell where it is found that:

the Race IAT shows that most White individuals have an implicit preference for Whites over Blacks. (Wikipedia)

But we can change, as Malcolm writes in his book:

Our first impressions are generated by our experiences and our environment, which means that we can change our first impressions—we can alter the way we thin-slice—by changing the experiences that comprise those impressions. If you are a white person who would like to treat black people as equals in every way—who would like to have a set of associations with blacks that are as positive as those that you have with whites—it requires more than a simple commitment to equality. It requires that you change your life so that you are exposed to minorities on a regular basis and become comfortable with them and familiar with the best of their culture

Let’s change.

I believe that the fear of minorities is partly caused by news media when they blindly communicate whatever politicians say without at least some interpretation of what motives they have. All political parties have talented PR people staffed, so it’s an unfair game if the journalists just copy and paste the message.

An example: I don’t think the reintroduction of the Danish border control is about keeping pocket thieves et al. out. The purpose is to keep our fear of others alert.