In the last few months, on two occasions, I have been called “a privileged white woman” by two strangers who knew nothing about me. One was by someone online; the other was in a face-to-face encounter, where the name caller was also a white woman (granted, she called me “a privileged old white woman,” while she was young. So, perhaps young, white women aren’t privileged in her opinion?).
The fact is I, being Jewish, am part of a people group that has an incredibly long history of persecution up to the modern day, when there are more anti-Jewish hate crimes in our country than of any other people group. According to the way people use the word “privileged” in our day, I am not part of a privileged people group. But they are judging me according to the colour of my skin. They are pre-judging me. Prejudice, based on my skin colour. But isn’t everyone against that? Apparently not. Not if you are light-skinned, like me.
The fact is, we are all somewhat guilty of pre-judging, even if it’s a little bit. Maybe you’re one, who like me, doesn’t judge people by the colour of their skin. But do you make assumptions about them on the basis of their religion? The political party they vote for? Their country of origin?
Canadians tend to be polite and say, “I’m sorry,” a lot. We really do, and when I bump into someone slightly in a store and we both sincerely say, “I’m sorry,” I laugh inwardly and think to myself, “We are sooo Canadian.” (Note, someone in a people group is allowed to generalize about their own people group. Other people aren’t. That’s just social etiquette 101.) But I have seen rude Canadians, so even though Canadians might in general be polite, you can’t assume that just because someone is Canadian, they are polite.
When I hear someone ignorantly say, “All Jewish people are smart” I say, “Only the smart ones are. The dumb ones are dumb.” Or, “Jewish people are rich” – no, only the wealthy ones are, the poor ones aren’t.
Can we stop with the prejudice and get to know people as people?
I want to encourage us all not to assume we know all about someone until we actually do. Let’s judge people, not by the colour of their skin, nor by the people group, political group, religious group, or any other group they belong to, but by the” content of their character” (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) as we get to know them. Ask questions, such as “What do you think?” Why do you think that way?” “Have you considered _______?” Listen to them and maybe they will listen to you. You can assume that as fellow human beings, we all have the same basic needs and wants – including love and acceptance.
