Prejudice?
Isn’t it interesting how quickly the race-card (i.e. “X is a racist”) is played in the media?
It seems that the moment we disagree with someone Politically, Religiously or Economically (The Triangle of Terror), we insinuate injustice is at work.
If we dig a bit deeper in our own lives, we find that our emotions are often on the throne. If we perceive an opportunity to do business with Company A, whom we have dealt with previously, we may find ourselves outraged at even the thought of Jimmy in Sales there. The emotion drives our beahaviour, rather than rationalising, “He doesn’t work in this branch, and besides the one company is greater than one bad experience”.
Emotions are powered by Perceptions. These, in turn, are driven by Paradigms (and related worldviews), which may or may not still be valid – if they ever were.
Consider how swiftly we pre-judge based on Colour, Smell, Historical Events, Ability (to deliver in a certain way in a certain context), Body Language, Relationships (good or bad) and Beauty (based on our upbringing).
I honestly believe no-one is a racist. Rather, Person X had a racist thought he did not control. Likewise, Jimmy could self-manage his mood and satisfy his customer in spite of personal challenges. Choice. Free Will. Let us be humbly aware of how full of misconceptions (literally, ideas wrongly given birth to) we are. How broken we all are in different areas. And let us ask before telling, and listen before assuming. Just today. Just this moment.
The thought is the control-point. Own it.