A Mind of Dark Projections. Twelve Reflections to end Prejudice.
Addressing intellectual aversion and emotional rants against 'them.'
The emotional-psychological dynamic of prejudice deserves personal and public attention, whether prejudice against people of faith, nationality, ethnic groups, gender, identity, political party, refugees, single mothers, unemployed and more.
Let us face up to our shadows revealed whether liberal or conservative, religious or secular, materialistic or spiritual, believer or disbeliever or going in all directions.
Photo taken in a museum in Brisbane, Australia. Not even a thought separates the inner from the outer or the outer from the inner.
Meaning of Prejudice/Stereotype
Not based on actual experience, not based on clarity of mind, nor reason.
A negative assumption towards a particular group regularly repeated.
Widely promoted, fixed and oversimplified image of set of beliefs/views held by a group of people or individual.
To have a fixed idea about others, distorted and out of touch.
A belief that a group will always behave in a particular way.
A preconceived and oversimplified belief about a group of others, which leads to treating them as inferior.
Twelve Steps for Living without Prejudice (Pre-judgement)
Intention matters. Let us question ourselves and others. If you have the intention to dissolve stereotype of others, read on. If you wish to address the prejudice of others, read on.
If you have no interest to explore change, there is little point in reading on.
1.      Reflect deeply on the most basic and preliminary of ethics, namely, to treat others as one wishes to be treated.
2.     Be honest. How much direct contact have you had with those who you point your finger at? Have you spent time with them and their community?
3.     Do you realise stereotyping (islamophobia, antisemitism, racism, sexism and nationalism) starts or reinforces the prejudices of others including the stereotyped?
4.     Observe a specific form of Noble Silence. Do not say the word of the group you heap blame upon for a year and a day. Do you look down on Muslims, Jews, Americans, Russians, Chinese, refugees or the political left/right. Find inner space free from the perpetuation of reactivity.
5.     Does your stereotyping of a group of people get you attention? Does your career, income and self-worth depend on believing you are right and they are wrong, problematic, deluded and dangerous.
6.     When did you first start espousing these violent views? What happened? Did you feel bad about yourself and then you needed to find an outlet for blame? Did the media hysteria at the time contribute to your unresolved fear and blame landing on a group? Did your attacks get stronger on the group (religion, ethnicity, race, gender…)?
7.     Remember the time before your prejudices started. Keep going back to the time before such reactivity. Your prejudice might have started in childhood.
8.    Did influential authority figures influence your perceptions – parents, politicians, family members, the press, social media, literature, movies or friends?
9.     Examine the various causes and conditions for human suffering owing to identifying with views that stereotype others?
10. Remember you do not have to think lovingly of groups of people. You do not have to take up spiritual/religious language, such as We are all One or We are all God’s children. Do you understand the difference between prejudice and a thoughtful, unwavering critique of your deep concerns about the other?
11.  Are you willing to end generalisations about others and the arrogance of believing you know who they are, what they are like and their behaviour?
12. What views contribute to fuelling fear and blame onto others and the subsequent horror upon the stereotyped? Do you like being stereotyped with others as being out of touch, unreasonable and living with a jaundiced view?
Final Comment
Hypocrisy means we claim higher standards or a civilised approach with whom we identify as sharing our views. Evidence may show that this is not the case.
Who has to change?
If we want others to change their prejudices, views and ways, show ways you have changed. We must know how to change our prejudices, views and ways too.
May all beings be free from the reactive image
and projections onto the other
May all beings see the real
May all beings respond with wise action to the real.
A wonderful text.