Prejudice and Ignorance

Prejudice and Ignorance, these are two of the most misused and misunderstood words in the English language today. With the Trayvon Martin shooting death dominating the nightly news, these two words keep popping up with ever increasing frequency. Unfortunately the Media continues to purposely incite the ignorant masses by using the word prejudice incorrectly.

We must "break the cycles of Prejudice and Ignorance" is the rally cry of Professional Agitators like the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Rev. Jesse Jackson Therefore, I would like to spend a few minutes clarifying both the definitions and the proper use of these words in an effort to answer this commonly misunderstood command. Let's start with a simple definition of both of these words.

prej·u·dice (noun)
1. an unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge, thought, or reason.
2. unreasonable feelings, opinions, or attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding a racial, religious, or national group.


ig·no·rance (noun)
the state or fact of being ignorant; lack of knowledge, learning, information, etc.

Now take the word prejudice. Based on the definition above, it stands to reason, if a person has an opinion that is based on proven facts, well thought out and reasonable, then he is not guilty of being PREJUDICED. This person would have a condition commonly known as discernment. (see definition below)

dis·cern·ment (noun)
1. the faculty of discerning; discrimination; acuteness of judgment and understanding.

Now don't let that other "naughty" misused word "discrimination" throw you off. Discrimination is a good thing when used properly, when you discriminate on the basis on facts, it is similar to discernment.

A person who can not tell the difference between fact and fiction would be IGNORANT. A person who lets their television set form their opinion would be IGNORANT. A person who does not independently verify information before reaching a conclusion, would be IGNORANT.

With these definitions in mind, let's move on. In light of the Trayvon Martin case, the Mainstream Media and the IGNORANT masses are continuing to misuse the word PREJUDICE. Recently, I watched a video of black college kids wearing hoodies saying "Do we look threatening" This silly demonstration has also disturbingly been mimicked in the United States Senate by Senators. This is a coordinated effort to make it appear that the masses of "white folk" are racially profiling "blacks" because they wear hoodies. These people are the epitome of the word IGNORANT.

NEWS FLASH!! The general population does not feel threatened because a black man is wearing a hoodie. The general population is simply aware of a well known fact. YOUNG BLACK MALES COMMIT A DISPROPORTIONATE AMOUNT OF THE CRIME IN THIS COUNTRY. THE ODDS OF A YOUNG BLACK MALE COMMITTING A VIOLENT CRIME ARE MORE THAN 6 TIMES GREATER THAN THE ODDS OF A WHITE MAN COMMITTING ONE. IN SOME STATES, THE ODDS ARE 10 TO 1. THIS IS NOT RACISM AND THIS IS NOT BEING PREJUDICE, IT IS SIMPLY A WELL KNOWN, WELL DOCUMENTED FACT.

Here are some more interesting facts:
http://www.colorofcrime.com/colorofcrime2005.pdf
Interracial Crime
• Of the nearly 770,000 violent interracial crimes committed every year involving blacks and whites, blacks commit 85 percent and whites commit 15 percent.
• Blacks commit more violent crime against whites than against blacks. Fortyfive percent of their victims are white, 43 percent are black, and 10 percent are Hispanic. When whites commit violent crime, only three percent of their victims are black.
• Blacks are an estimated 39 times more likely to commit a violent crime against a white than vice versa, and 136 times more likely to commit robbery.
• Blacks are 2.25 times more likely to commit officially-designated hate crimes against whites than vice versa.
Gangs
• Only 10 percent of youth gang members are white.
• Hispanics are 19 times more likely than whites to be members of youth gangs.
Blacks are 15 times more likely, and Asians are nine times more likely.
Incarceration
• Between 1980 and 2003 the US incarceration rate more than tripled, from 139
to 482 per 100,000, and the number of prisoners increased from 320,000 to 1.39
million.
• Blacks are seven times more likely to be in prison than whites. Hispanics are three times more likely.

IF YOU DO NOT KNOW THIS OR DON'T WANT TO BELIEVE IT, IT IS BECAUSE YOU ARE IGNORANT!!!