I'm not a racist and I'm not prejudice; but I can and do discriminate between various things. In fact, I can tell the difference between hot and cold, up and down, blue and red and a whole list of other things! This is what makes humans so versatile and why we are capable of learning.
Part of this learning, for me, has taught me that some people are more likely to be friendly than others and some are more likely to start trouble than others. Often this is distinguishable by how they talk or how they dress. I've found it isn't necessarily anything to do with race or sex or skin color. There are good and bad people of all colors. But there are people who all of us will eye suspiciously—based primarily on our past experience. This is not a bad trait. It is part of learning and part of gaining experience. Unfortunately, if the people within our experiences, tend to be a certain race, have a certain look or a certain set of characteristics, we will (and probably should) be wary of this based on these experiences and what we have learned from them. If you blindly disregard all experiences to prove how open-minded you are, you will probably end up being taken advantage of by someone who does not share your ideals or ideas. This may be your choice, but it is not mine. Finally, since I can and do discriminate, I believe I will choose something to eat for lunch today that I think will be good; based on my experience and ability to discriminate. If this means I prefer the chili instead of the hummus, that does not mean that I am a bad person.
Part of this learning, for me, has taught me that some people are more likely to be friendly than others and some are more likely to start trouble than others. Often this is distinguishable by how they talk or how they dress. I've found it isn't necessarily anything to do with race or sex or skin color. There are good and bad people of all colors. But there are people who all of us will eye suspiciously—based primarily on our past experience. This is not a bad trait. It is part of learning and part of gaining experience. Unfortunately, if the people within our experiences, tend to be a certain race, have a certain look or a certain set of characteristics, we will (and probably should) be wary of this based on these experiences and what we have learned from them. If you blindly disregard all experiences to prove how open-minded you are, you will probably end up being taken advantage of by someone who does not share your ideals or ideas. This may be your choice, but it is not mine. Finally, since I can and do discriminate, I believe I will choose something to eat for lunch today that I think will be good; based on my experience and ability to discriminate. If this means I prefer the chili instead of the hummus, that does not mean that I am a bad person.
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