Pride of prejudice?
How many of us can honestly say that we are completely free of prejudice? This whole environment of “acceptance” and being “politically correct” or “forward thinking” how much of it is just talk and how much has substance?
My friends and I were talking about a performance we once saw, by quite a famous Odissi dancer – or rather, how bad it was. We particularly dislike this dancer, but I can’t help but think that the performance would seem less terrible, if the dancer were a woman.
In my dance class, all three batches together have about 25 students – out of which 2 are guys. Perhaps with the exception of Birju Maharaj and Kelucharan Mohapatra, I have to admit that I have a slight mind block against male classical dancers.
As far as the topic of stereotypes goes, I have 2 questions:
1) As opposed to being ‘open-minded’, is being conventional a bad thing?
2) How truly free from prejudices are we?
My friends and I were talking about a performance we once saw, by quite a famous Odissi dancer – or rather, how bad it was. We particularly dislike this dancer, but I can’t help but think that the performance would seem less terrible, if the dancer were a woman.
In my dance class, all three batches together have about 25 students – out of which 2 are guys. Perhaps with the exception of Birju Maharaj and Kelucharan Mohapatra, I have to admit that I have a slight mind block against male classical dancers.
As far as the topic of stereotypes goes, I have 2 questions:
1) As opposed to being ‘open-minded’, is being conventional a bad thing?
2) How truly free from prejudices are we?
posted by 
@ 4:01 am
2 Comments:
At 9:17 am, February 19, 2005,
Meghna said…
Wow...ok I had to get down to answering this at some point...so here goes:
I think my communication was a bit bad for part a)! The first question was in no way connected to the rest of the post. I realise that it wasn't very well structured...I apologise for that. I meant, when we say "open minded" is that an excuse for giving up conventional values??
As for part b) I disagree with you on only one thing - accepting a homosexual, jew, black or a person diagnosed with AIDS and accepting a drug addict are two COMPLETELY different things. We cannot possibly accept drug addiction. In any case, we do not nurture a prejudice against the human being, but against his habit - in this case of drug addiction. In accepting a drug addict, are we not in some way glorifying the addiction?
This again brings me back to the first point, since here, accepting such an addiction would be completely against conventional values! So, isn't this so called "open-mindedness" actually detrimental to values?
At 5:13 am, February 21, 2005,
Meghna said…
I never actually once did say that I am not willing to accept the drug addict! The whole time, I kept it quite clear, that my prejudice (or actually dissaproval) is of the addiction not the addict! As for the intelligent-son senario you spoke off...I don't see the logic. How would a boy that intelligent and happy, ever get into drugs in the first place?!
And, drug addiction is an external choice, wheras the moral practice of Judaisim is a subjective one that cannot be judged upon. So yes, it IS indeed THAT different!
As far as what you said at the end of your comment. I like and agree with that reasoning. (That prejudices are a reflection of the kind of people one wants to be associated with). However, I noticed that in the case of your friends who smoke, there is a mutual respect for each others choices. What happens when that isn't there? Would you accept them smoking in front of you simply because everyone does it??
However, no one has actually given me an opinion on part 1)! An analogy: Malika Sheravat is considered a free woman of today. Women 50 years ago would never behave or dress the way she does. Isn't this kind of uninhibited behaviour detrimental to our (let's face it) Indian value system?
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