Inevitability of Prejudice


The position taken in this paper is a personal one justified by biology and social sciences. I believe that no race, sex, religion, or social group is superior to another, nor do I condone or believe in any acts of hate based on one’s denomination.


Deeply rooted in our brains is the preference to associate with people who more closely resemble ourselves. When given a choice, a person is more likely to associate with someone of the same race, religious affiliation, social class, or gender as them because they can relate to that person more easily. In this unconscious decision to prefer people who closely resemble ourselves, humans are instinctively prejudice towards people who are different, whether it be an unconscious or conscious decision. Merely accepting the fact that the group of people we associate ourselves with is different from another proves that prejudice has already taken place in the mind. The only way prejudice cannot exist is in a society in which everyone belongs to the same group, a society that does not exist, ensuring the inevitability of prejudice and its eternal presence.
America in particular serves as a prime example of the inevitability of prejudice. The country was founded by many different social groups seeking refuge from persecution in their homeland and despite this, established a country that favored males of European descent and sometimes unconsciously, but many times very consciously, imposed incredibly unfair conditions towards those who were different.
Socialization is the process by which individuals internalize the values, beliefs, and norms of a given society and learn to function as members of that society (Corsaro, William A. "Socialization." Encyclopedia of the Life Course and Human Development. pg. 350.)   Throughout history, Europeans have socialized with other Europeans and Africans have socialized with other Africans with little interaction between the two groups, creating two entirely different societies....