A Different Kind of Tired...

Prejudice (one of the ugly countenances of Ignorance and Fear, for those who remember their Dickens') comes in many forms. Race, gender, sexual preference, religion, financial status, weight, and more. I'd wager that at one time or another most people have been victims of prejudice. What amazes me, though, is how some people have an attitude that 1) their particular group has the exclusive on being unfairly treated, and 2) it justifies their correspondingly poor treatment of those they feel responsible for their suffering.

If you want to end the prejudice, though, this approach is obviously problematic. Conflict rarely solves anything. Victimizing others just spreads the dysfunction. Engaging in such behavior appears, in the mind of the original wrongdoers, to justify why they subjected these people to prejudice to begin with (wrongly, but...). Its isolationist and divisive.

It does, however, help to reinforce a person's identification with the role of victim. It also provides some superficial sense of immediate gratification and allows the person to feel empowered (though it is an illusion, the power of the 'bully'). These are actions based in fear, just like those of the original victimizers.

Real change and empowerment is most likely to come from a higher moral ground. Inclusivity, not exclusivity. The open hand, rather than the fist. People might want to take some clues from the work of The Elders, and the restorative justice of the Navajo Nation. The late Danaan Perry and the Earthstewards have also done some interesting work in the areas of conflict resolution, peacemaking and citizen diplomacy.