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College student hoping to expose people to thoughts and ideas they might not necessarily come across on a regular basis.

The Hatred in Our Hearts...

I am not a religious person. And yet, I find myself, completely by chance, coming back to Sydney Smith.

"Never try to reason the prejudice out of a man. It was not reasoned into him, and cannot be reasoned out.
"

There are people in this world, like the folks who stand on college campuses condemning students for being sinners, calling young ladies 'whores' as they pass by, and generally ignoring the shortcomings of their own lives, who cannot be reasoned with.

There are people who are convinced that Jews are out to conquer the world, the Muslims want to establish a global caliphate, that liberals want to reshape the world into one giant socialist state, or that republicans are all gun-toting, bible thumping, gay-bashing morons.

To all of those statements, I say: They are not.

For the most part.

For every person who allows stereotypes to shape the decisions they make, the world becomes a little more fractured. So tomorrow, when you see someone that you think is strange, or who is wearing something that makes you label them, or who shows him/herself to be part of a group that you dislike, take a moment, find something about yourself that could be an identifying attribute, and then ask yourself if you'd like to be judged by all of the negative stereotypes of that attribute.

We need to give people a chance, especially now. Public figures like politicians and media figures are certainly not taking the lead in positive dialog, so why don't we? Do we always need the go-ahead from someone important to do the right thing? I sure hope not, or we're doomed for a pathetic existence.



I'll be working on my own treatment of others as well. I could use some improvement. And I'm hoping that not all my posts will have the same ooey gooey message of let's all just get along. Don't get me wrong, it's a message I want to spread, but if I write about it in every post, we'll all get bored. So please stick with me, I really appreciate the feedback I've gotten so far, and I'm looking forward to more. Have a wonderful night, and sweet dreams to all.

18 Responses so far.

  1. Word. People of negative output are becoming obsolete.

  2. -- says:

    wow this is really deep. i love the way you write, keep it up.

  3. Cardboredbox: That, sir, is a great quote. "People of negative output are becoming obsolete." Like something you'd see spray painted on a billboard.

    Ben, I really appreciate that. I try hard, and it feels good to see that it pays off.

  4. I think negative prejudice often stems from someones distrust of others who are different.


    Great read. One of my favorites this week.

  5. This is really well written. Ill be checking back for more

  6. Sam says:

    Nice post, enjoyed reading it..

  7. Thats really awesome! Very good done :)

  8. Anonymous says:

    Great... I completely agree with you... stereotypes doesn´t do any good.

  9. Mike says:

    at the end we are all humans we just have different opions but we all the same primitive feelings and actions we are born with. sociaty just shaped everyone differently.

  10. A. says:

    Nice post, way to make people think. And over time, we have gotten better about may things, we just need to keep it up.

  11. Desuuuu says:

    Your post is a work of art and literature. Word.

    I've had it with people stereotyping me, and I've also had it with my people stereotyping others.

    The extremists of all parties are ruining it for the others.

  12. mtn says:

    wow, really cool posts. really deep!

  13. Drivebot says:

    "Never try to reason the prejudice out of a man. It was not reasoned into him, and cannot be reasoned out."

    actually that's a super good quote, very true... good post dude! following!

  14. Thank you all for the kind words. It motivates me to continue.

  15. Shakuru says:

    I'm an idealist but I always remember that no matter how hard you try, you cant change people. All you can do is steal their babies and brainwash them while their still young to be good, virtuous, creative, intelligent, accepting individuals.

  16. noone says:

    that is the hatred in our hearts

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