FROM WHERE I SIT Guilty of Prejudice ? JUNE 23, 2014 PAT SPILSETH
Sunni, Schite, or Kurd; Coptic Christian or Muslim, Roman Catholic or Lutheran, black or white, male or female, young or old? The daily news is filled with angry differences between people, the fear, guilt and violence often occurring because of differences.
Diversity is relatively new. Sameness is comfortable. Norwegians settled near other Scandinavians; Russians, Orientals and Africans found homes and friends in areas of cities with people who looked and spoke like them. In this country’s early days we feared Indian uprisings so our government put the Indians on reservations, killing their nomadic way of life. In business it was feared that women rising to power jobs would take away from their mothering and household duties. Men would feel guilty to be at home and be judged effeminite if they became “house husbands”.
Anger, fear, guilt and persecution have existed since the world was created. By this twenty-first century, one would think we would have been been informed, educated and understanding of one another. Why do some still feel the need to persecute, even kill each other? Whether we kill with swords, bullets, words or drones, destruction is everywhere.
The Middle East has always been in constant turmoil. From Sadat’s murder to Saddam’s downfall, Israel’s constant conflict with its neighbors, Syria’s dictator Assad gassing his own people and now another angry uprising in Egypt...when will it ever end? Sunday night’s 60 MINUTES TV program had an interesting report on the Coptic Christians in Egypt whose churches are now being destroyed by radical Muslims. Groups of people are being persecuted because they think differently than the ruling part.
When most of us were very young, we rarely noticed differences. We just wanted to play, eat and sleep. We were color blind, not conscious of social class, income levels, clothing designers or car models. Our little world was only about us and our family. But as kids grew and entered school, we started to notice differences: some kids were bigger, could run faster, had fancy clothes and a bike. We felt the pain of indifference, unworthiness and inability when it came to choosing teams, friends or being chosen for a date. Remember how devasting it was to be picked last? A teacher’s red marks on that paper we’d worked so hard at were soul crushing.
Growing up in small town Minnesota, our communities were homogeneous. Race wasn’t an issue. We knew people of different nations looked different; some thought different, but we rarely encountered those folks. Almost everyone I knew was pasty white in the winter and burned red in the summer. Moms worked at home; dads made the money. In Glenwood had no blacks, Orientals, Mexicans, Russians, or Italians. Indians and divorced people were rare. When we disapproved of another’s opinions, it was easy to avoid or shun them. We Protestants did not date Catholics and vice versa. As we grew older, our parents, TV, newspapers and even movies pointed out differences that existed in our expanded world. We learned who was an Indian, a Jew or a Mormon.
We became aware of differences. Some individuals tended to become judgmental: a red nose indicates he’s a drunk; he must be rich because he drives a Cadillac; those that get commodities at the welfare office must be poor or have too many kids. Most of us were light skinned, blondes or brunnettes with a slight Northern European accent. Uffdas and knee slapping laughs could be heard in every school, church, cafe and bar in town. We ate meat and potatoes, mostly white food with plenty of sugar and butter.
When we got to college, we were confronted with radical new ideas of 1960‘s desegregation in cities and schools. On TV we saw race riots in LA and Milwaukee, but our black classmates from Chicago and the South became good friends.
Cowboy movies showed us that the men in black hats were bad; the good guys were in white, like angels. In the fifties, some folks built bomb shelters, and kids at school hid under their desks when we had drills. Going to the movies we saw the news “shorts” of Nazi or Russian soldiers and feared the overwhelming power of their menacing black leather coats and boots. Our country entered Cold War diplomacy with the Soviet Union and an era of McCarthyism threated to destroy Hollywood, even our US congress. Hilter’s Nazis threatened the world and scared us. Finally we went to war to stop their pervading, destructive power from conquering the world. Today we fear the spread of Islam radicals spreading their violence and uneducated ideas worldwide.
Differences can be disturbing. Life among similar people makes most folks comfortable. Some people feel terrible guilt if they don’t eat fish on Friday or candy during Lent. A few churches don’t allow their women to wear makeup. Some churches meet on Saturday rather than Sunday. Growing up, upon entering school or driving down to the Cities, we began to learn that people are different. Women used to be considered the weaker sex, but in many educated areas of today’s world, we hold jobs of power and achievement as well as being mothers at home. Religious, uneducated zealots are trying to curb schooling for girls in some parts of our world, destroying any education or jobs for women. Their women are to remain in the home providing children, food and care for the ruling menfolk.
In most parts of the world today people are more educated. We’re more aware of differences: age, race, sex and ideas are discussed. Differences can be viewed as interesting: they can stretch our learning and expand our world. Today’s world is a puzzling dilemna. We have to decide what prejudices are uneducated and feared? What ideas are destructive and should never be accepted? Let’s hope we make good choices.
