prejudice or not prejudice, that is the question

i was having a midnight snack a few weeks ago with a bunch of friends. i was chatting with one of them but then i overheard another member of our party talk about a guy in her class. naturally our attention went to her. naturally..

she started off by saying that the dude was pretty good looking for an indian. then she continued to rattle off how suprised she was to see a good looking indian. she went on and on and on. right at the end, she told the group with a look of repugnance, the guy started to speak and she was utterly repulsed! he spoke with an indian accent apparently..and he wasnt so good looking anymore afterthat.

whats with this perception that an entire race of people can be ugly?..how can one be so small minded and shallow?..and the way she decribed how he spoke was absolutely demeaning and insulting. HE IS FROM INDIA, YOU DUMB FUCK!!..HE CANT HELP HAVING AN INDIAN ACCENT!!

i absolutely hate it when i hear "he/she wasnt bad looking for [insert race here]" what the hell?!!..everyone looks different. that makes us interesting. since when the way one looked made him a lesser person than anyone else?..everyone has an accent. speaking with different intonations and emphasis makes someone a freak? a weirdo?..or is it that you just think you are superior?

another friends of mine constanly imitates the waiter's accent ( in his face mind you ) when we go into a restaurant. many times i have jabbed her in the ribs for doing that. it just shocks me how rude people can be. i felt like someone slapped me when i first heard it from her. she tells me she cant help imitating the waiter and she didnt mean any harm by it.

true, she may have done it for her own amusement, but in front of him?..you start off the conversation speaking like you always do, with your own accent and the moment you hear a thick chinese accent, you put on a chinese accent as well. there is nothing fun or funny about that.

i dont think it ever occured to her that the reason he speaks english with a thick chinese accent is because its all he knows. he is surrounded by people speaking exactly the same way, many unable to utter a single english word. it also reflects on his education background. he is not very educated, thats why he is a waiter in a restaurant instead of being a..i dunno,..a diplomat. he didnt grow up in a english speaking community, he learnt himself from reading books and magazines.

there are so many reasons i can give but in all honesty i shouldnt and i wouldnt. why cant he just speak in whatever manner he is comfortable with? as long the message gets across i do not see a problem. why should he be feeling embarrased of himself when it is my friends who are the ones who should be ashamed?

it saddens me that in exchange for success, education, longer life, money and luxury, equal standings, human rights..men and women have lost their people skills. respect, courtesy, love, manners, humility are no longer part of the civilised society. we are back to square one. and no, we are not like animals..i am afraid that we have become worse than that.

everyone has prejudices, it all depends on what we have experienced in life and what we have heard from people we trust. i confess to having several myself. but in my opinion, prejudice people that allow themselves to be proven wrong and accept that 'defeat' with good graces, werent really prejudice to begin with.

no one person is better than another, no matter how rich you are or how beautiful you look..mutual respect for different cultures, mannerisms and way of life, makes you to have nothing to lose and a new friend to gain.

over and out.