Prejudice

Labels are sometimes changed to reflect changes in substance, and sometimes to try and create a difference through perception. Humans are biased in many ways. The primary way in terms of prejudice is 'Us and them'. We all do it assuming you are human. Pre judging someone or thing is a natural process, early identification or first impressions have many useful advantages for us, from identifying danger to seeing irritations (and positive things as well). The emotional pathways are key elements. It is not a thorough analysis. That takes other brain pathways and operates in a more deliberate method taking more time. A common problem with these methods is a mixing up of categories. Many times perception of others actions and motives is attributed to deliberate acts, when usually the other person has acted emotionally or instinctively. In my experience and statistical evidence most people do not spend much time at all making rational decisions before acting in spite of using the words (without thinking) 'I just thought that…'. Most people are just getting on with their lives, not spending a lot of time being considerate of others close to them let alone strangers.

Pre judging may be an emotional response or the result of reasoned thinking, or it might even be rational perhaps with scientific analysis. This error filled process may have evidence in past experience or friend’s stories. I want to highlight two elements that are mixed in with peoples perception of prejudice. Bias is in all directions and each bias can effect the person with the bias and other people. It may have an advantage swinging through trees but not necessarily in a situation within a modern society. Logical fallacies are systemic to the brain and require a lot of concentration for most people to avoid. Some people with autism for instance may find them easy to recognise but most do not. There are also many fallacies of ignorance. Science is not finished finding out about everything so we are ignorant of many things as a species let alone as individuals. The way around ignorances are as groups with different people with different abilities and responsibilities working to their strengths. Much of human diversity has been part of the species development and survival. Psychopathy may have been a key for 'Us' surviving, being able to do to a person or animal what most people find very difficult. In peace time this is called murder in other times it may be defence of the group. Autism can get past some emotion that can interfere with thinking for others.

Education is biased in many ways. Gender has been an emphasised bias in most societies. Finding the truth has been difficult as to what are real differences that need to be taken into account and false perceptions. Many of the arguments have been waged with little concern for this distinction. Our society has become a lot less violent physically, but passive aggression is still very common in usage as physical aggression was used previously. The bias is now against the physically violent and a lot more tolerant for the psychologically violent. An example of bias is regarding domestic violence where the 81 women who are murdered (UK) in a year by their partners, very little mention is made of the 19 men murdered by their partners. The most effected are women clearly, but this is the result not cause. I once met a lady who had worked with both abused women and male offenders. A common pattern to both groups were communication difficulties. Violence is linked to (or part of) communication and is a key problem. Most of us fail to communicate sometimes but the frustration of not being understood is common in many situations, whether children, stroke victims, psychological conditions. Violence is most often rooted in the communication difficulty. Violence is multifarious trying to treat it when it has reached this stage is unlikely to succeed. This end of conflict needs to be addressed appropriately. The prevention of conflict through communication and understanding of its source rather than decry the end result of physical violence.

Equality is the call, but just a change in bias to other peoples favour is more likely. Education is not supportive of kinaesthetic learners and kinaesthetic learning. Many adults in hands-on jobs have sometimes excelled after school mediocrity or failure (them and the school!). Many people have been supported concerning human variations. Gender issues have been attempted to be addressed sometimes in line with real issues and sometimes with perceptions. This is an area of the loudest voices. Race has also been addressed with varying success. Some biases are less of a problem in education than in the rest of society.

Again a lot of coverage on the pay gap between Women and Men has been constant. Other groups of people have massively fewer opportunities and in relative silence. Unemployment in people with autism is very high (c 90%). How to help people with autism and prepare them for the outside world (and the outside world for them) for example is an element of education that has poor results. Once the extra help and support in education disappears getting through job interviews is more than a glass ceiling. Many of the multitude of disabilities have similar patterns with varied attempts to improve results in education and beyond. The abilities must be emphasised. Many people with disabilities have abilities that are of a higher level then people who do achieve (get the jobs). Many disabilities are less obvious or hidden from others. Strengths need to be developed (and proof produced) and either less strong areas identified and then developed or strategies to cope developed.

The ignorance in wider society of disabilities or biases is not just common but entrenched and traditional. Prejudice is fed by ignorance. Better understanding of themselves and others is alluded to in Delphi from before 500 B.C. and other cultures have the same idea. Our society creates different biases or varies the biases compared to other societies both around the world and historically. A lot of barriers to learning are not recognised bias for or against certain people. The biggest barrier to achieving in education (and health, wealth etc.) is socio-economic. A poor women has many more disadvantages than a rich women. Poorer people have risen up through education but the proportion that fill hospitals and prisons and receive welfare are skewed to the poorer. These are the people failed by chosen bias of perception and action that changes bias not eliminates it.

To give equality of opportunity has to be to help awareness (individual and society) of strengths and weaknesses. Improving this identification and then helping people into roles (especially education and then workplace) aligned with their abilities. Reducing the taking and awarding of roles by unable people (for the role) when other factors (e.g. social) are used to select people for the roles rather than abilities. Of course reducing prejudice of one group will most often increase prejudice against another.