What is prejudice and how does it affect us?

Prejudice. What do you think of when you see or hear this word? Webster's dictionary defines prejudice as "a judgment or opinion formed without knowing the facts, or hatred an fear of other races, creeds, and nations." I have experienced many encounters with prejudice. Although none have been directly toward me, I still took offence. No on should ever have to become the center of comments that degrade them because of their differences.

Prejudice has been a serious problem in our society since the start of our nation. It still is a problem and will remain until we find a solution. The only problem is that there aren't many solutions that can be used. The only one that I have found is education. We could educate everyone about other races, nations, religions, and sexual orientations. It would be a tough job, but if everyone was willing to pitch in, we could change things, even if only a little.

Engraving of Noah Webster, from the frontispiece o...

Merriam-Webster’s 11 th edition of the Collegiat...

The Boy in the Frame

Every little bit would help. We may not be able to change the minds and opinions of adults who have already made up their minds, but if we teach the children, we can turn around their mind-set.

There have been a few situations in my lifetime where prejudicial comments have been said to my friends and offended me. When I was little, about the first grade, my best friend wanted to play baseball. All the boys were playing and she liked to play baseball. You see she was a tomboy because all she had for looking up to was her older brother. She had learned through the years to do boyish things. When she asked the boys if she could play, they replied, "Girls can't play baseball. It's a boy's game." My friend started to argue but simply gave them...