Stereotypes and Prejudiced Thinking

We all have internalized stereotypes about other people and I am increasingly aware of my own prejudices. Growing up in a white middle-class family gave me privilege, and for most of my life I did not recognize the power of this privilege. While there is a lot of focus on racism in current media, prejudice, "pre judging", preconceived opinions about people different than ourselves, happens all the time aside from race. Prejudice is often a negative assessment of a person based on a variety of characteristics including, gender, age, occupation, disability, religion, beauty, wealth, ethnicity, social standing and more. Preconceived notions prevent us from seeing the humanity and worth in people who do not fit in with our particular group or value system.

I received a referral to assess the mobility of a man whose medical history included a mental health diagnosis, IV drug use, and non-compliance with medical treatment. He was very ill and could not walk due to a severe infection, but was threatening to leave hospital AMA (against medical advice). I knew all of this before I set eyes on the patient and undeniably had pre-judged the situation. 

I met a very angry man in his late 40s, and realized that arguing about his need to stay in hospital was futile. So I asked him to tell me his life story, where he grew up, where he had worked and why he needed to leave so urgently. As a child he was adopted by a family who lived on a farm. He didn't know his birth family but he loved the farm. He struggled at school but was proud of the jobs he held in various manufacturing facilities. His drug use led to time in prison but he told me he had not used drugs in eleven years. Old labels stick for a long time. He now lived in a rooming house with 4 other people who had once been on the street, and these were his friends.  He told me he would stay in hospital if he could go out for a cigarette, so we arranged to take him outside the building in a wheelchair. He ended up staying and was discharged home a few days later when he was medically improved.

Hospital work is often hectic and it is challenging to find time to listen and explore the humanity of every patient. I was made aware again of how often I judge people based on a diagnosis, particularly where there is a mental health history, poor self-care, or noncompliance. My judgements come from perceptions which are based on my own privilege, experience, education and social status. If I believe that humans are made in the image of God, I need to look for that image in every person. Jesus did that well, connecting with the sick and poor, the despised tax collectors, the racially impure, prostitutes and sinners. He saw the worth in everyone. 

I grew up in a church culture that taught us to judge by appearances, to live "separate lives" with a long list of forbidden activities. We knew who was going to heaven and who was going to hell and had to walk a fine line to make sure we were not headed in the wrong direction. I knew all the right answers in a black and white world, a world where there were consequences for every infraction. While there were many good and loving people in my group, I learned to be very judgemental. 

Look up this book by Kate Bowler

Several years ago I read about a young teenager who was found dead in Western Canada. It was a sad story, but a few days later it was revealed that the girl was from an Indigenous community. For a fleeting moment I felt relieved that it was not a girl like my own daughters. I was ashamed of my prejudice but was influenced by the stereotypes of indigenous people that I grew up with, even things I learned in school. I recently enrolled in an online course from Coursera called Indigenous Canada. I have learned more in the first module than I knew in my entire life about Canadian Indigenous culture. Reading Richard Wagamese's books also enlightened me to the tragedy of residential schools and the long term consequences of forced separation from birth families. 

I will have to deal with my ingrained prejudices and judgemental attitude indefinitely. My hope is that I will recognize my thought processes and will choose to act in a compassionate manner toward all types of people. 

Those of us who grew up in the Baby Boomer generation experienced enormous social and political change since the end of World War 2. I will write more about racial experiences that were formative in my life.