Friday, August 19, 2005

The official rating system for prejudice

I am dead against all sorts of prejudice. Seems to me though that we have different reactions to different kinds of prejudice. Today rap musicians are talking about homophobia. And rightly so, there's no doubt that there is a problem with homophobic lyrics in rap. Hasn't anyone noticed though that sexism is also rife in rap lyrics? I don't know any other type of music where women are routinely referred to as "bitches" and "whores". But of course if I complain too loudly I am being racist - the least socially acceptable prejudice of all - because the genre is "black music".

Wouldn't it be nice if everyone who was discriminated against could unite against all types of prejudice?

7 comments:

Andrew said...

Sure, but everyone is prejudiced to some extent, whether it is race-related, sex-related, or just opinion-related. For example, you've said some things about your political opponents that are totally unrelated to their actual views, and are based solely on your prejudiced opinions of what their views are.

Cruella said...

Not sure I know what you mean. My prejudiced views of what other people's opinions are? If I'm filling in the blanks here incorrectly then please correct me. That's not prejudice.

David Hadley said...

'Wouldn't it be nice if everyone who was discriminated against could unite against all types of prejudice?'

First of all you'll have to work out which forms of prejudice are the unacceptable ones. After all, even the rich and powerful can get their soup pissed in by waiters. And decide where the distinction lies between prejudice and preference. Is it unacceptable to prefer being treated by a doctor in preference to a tramp off the street when ill, or is that just prejudice too? (An extreme example, but I hope you see the point.)
Prejudice is - by definition - an unthinking response and as such should by treated in the same manner as any other example of stupidity and should be laughed AT. Ideally, this would be just the job for stand up comedians, but they are often too busy pandering to their audience's own prejudices in pursuit of the easy laugh.

Cruella said...

Sure there is a lot of different prejudice about. That's rather my point. And have you seen my show? Well clearly not, the last thing I do is pander to anyone's prejudices. I do quite a few things poking fun at people's prejudices. You should come see it some time, it might even get you over your pre-conceived ideas about comedians!!

staghounds said...

Prejudice is by no means by definition an unthinking or stupid response. I am prejudiced against sharing a car with a drunken driver, a zoo enclosure with a hungry carnivore, or bodily fluids with a prostitute. Those are all potentially life saving prejudices.

What you say about hierarchies of prejudice / bigotry / victimhood is absolutely true. There are such gradations, we all see them in action. The rap music example is a blatant one.

staghounds said...

Prejudice is by no means by definition an unthinking or stupid response. I am prejudiced against sharing a car with a drunken driver, a zoo enclosure with a hungry carnivore, or bodily fluids with a prostitute. Those are all potentially life saving prejudices.

What you say about hierarchies of prejudice / bigotry / victimhood is absolutely true. There are such gradations, we all see them in action. The rap music example is a blatant one.

Cruella said...

Well I don't think those are prejudices. The word means to pre-judge. So you've correctly ascertained that those are dangerous things to do. We have to make generalisations about people and situations in order to get on with our lives. We need however to be aware of what we're doing and to make a conscious decision not to judge people on the basis of race, sexual orientation and gender when it is not appropriate to do so.