Patrick's Saturday Six

   I participate in Patrick's Saturday Six meme only very occasionally. This week's set of questions piqued my interest, so here are my answers...

1. Considering all possible factors about a person that make us different, like age, appearance, religion, race, origin, sexual preference, etc., with 10 being the most prejudiced and 1 being the least, how do you think you would rate yourself?

2. You’re having a problem with a product or service and you call customer service. You are finally connected with someone who has a thick accent that sounds difficult to understand. What is the first thing that goes through your mind?

3. A co-worker you like tells you that his or her church is holding an “open house” and is encouraging people of other faiths to visit. You and your co-worker are of different faiths. How likely would you be to attend?

4. Take the quiz: Are you prejudiced?

5. You lose a big promotion to someone who you considered to be less qualified than you are, despite the fact that you are only going by instinct in making that determination. If your boss later pulls you aside and explains that because of a growing effort to promote diversity, the other person was selected over you. What would your first reaction likely be?

6. Your car breaks down in a neighborhood in which everyone is of a different race than you: are you more likely to be uncomfortable?

   OK, those were the questions. Here are my answers:

1) I'm not sure I completely understand the wording of this question. I assume it is asking how prejudiced I think I am on a scale of one to ten, with one being the least prejudiced and ten being the most.
   I'm not naive enough to think I'm not prejudiced at all. I don't want to be prejudiced, but I know I am to some extent. We all are. My first reaction to this question was to estimate my own level of prejudism at a two or a three. Then, recognising that we all have prejudices built into us by our upbringing that we may be blind to ourselves, I upgraded that to a three or a four.

2) "Why do they call it customer service when their employee is unable to communicate effectively with their customer?"

3) This question is different for me than for many. In my case, the co-worker and I would not be of different faiths. The co-worker is of a faith, and I am of no faith. I would absolutely not attend, but I don't consider that to be a prejudiced reaction. If he offered me free kidney dialysis, would you expect me to accept, just to be respectful?

4)

You Are Not Prejudiced

Not only are you color blind, but you're also ethnicity blind, gender blind, and sexual orientation blind. You don't judge someone until you truly know them. And even then, you're probably reluctant to judge. You try to treat everyone equally. Everyone has a fair chance with you. Good job - there's not a prejudiced bone in your body.

Are You Prejudiced?

   Look, the quiz has a higher opinion of me than I do.

5) I tell my boss that I feel sorry that the company will be less competetive in its marketplace because it has less capable people in key positions. Hiring a less qualified person based upon some kind of affirmative action plan may look good on the surface, but it isn't good business practice.

6) It depends on the neighbourhood. Now, that may well be a prejudiced statement. Unfortunately, it is also a realistic one.

Tags: memes, Saturday Six, prejudism