“If everyone were blind, they would then see the real light in each individual.”
Prejudice is the weed in every garden. It spreads fast and overtakes the pretty, colorful flowers. Also like weeds, prejudice is everywhere: at work, in cities, on farms, in all countries, and even at Providence Day. At our school, you’re judged based on who you sit with at lunch, what you wear, who you’re going out with, what classes you take, and the grades you receive. This evil weed creates classifications in our mind, like “the popular kids” and “the nerds,” that stereotype people based on no real knowledge whatsoever. Even after years and years of its existence, this weed of prejudice can be uprooted. That’s exactly what we have to do: remove it, and its roots, from the soil.
Bias is a mind-set passed down from parent to child, but not genetically. If your parents have negative feelings toward someone, or towards a specific group, chances are, you will too. We tend to look to our parents as leaders, and even without good reason, we adopt their views. But we should take into account that we are a new generation. The world is a different place now. Maybe our parents and grandparents don’t like certain people because they’ve had conflicts in the past, but we should form opinions based on our own experiences. Even though our parents have certain expectations of others, that doesn’t mean that we have to share that attitude. People judge each other based on things like their outfits, their religion, their job, gender, facial features, ethnicity, name, body
language, and their hobbies. Instead of prejudging people and expecting them to be a certain way, we should just get to know them.
People, especially teenagers, are figuring out who they are and who they want to be. If people don’t even understand themselves, then what right do we have to judge someone else, let alone judging them in one small instance? Everyone is trying new things, figuring out who they are, and of course making plenty of mistakes. Society as a whole should be more understanding and forgiving. There are so many aspects of a person; it is impossible to grasp them all in one glance. When you see an individual walking down the street, you don’t know where they’re coming from or where they’re heading. Always give people the benefit of the doubt, and just give them a break.