Thin Line between prejudice and discrimination
Though the trio of prejudice, stereotype and discrimination are somehow of the same family. They are closely related but should not be confused as one. I have talked about prejudice as having baseless and unjustified feelings, thoughts or beliefs, which are most times exaggerated or wrong towards anyone from a particular group before even meeting or evaluating the individual.
The stereotype is holding a mental picture of what a particular group is like (overgeneralized beliefs about a group), which can be positive or negative but often not accurate and can limit the members of that group in a way. Discrimination is the actual unjust or negative treatments of an individual or people from a group solely based on them belonging to or their association with that group. When negative stereotypical beliefs meet with prejudicial attitudes, then discrimination is born. Discrimination is a dangerous end to prejudice which can escalate to violence or even war.
A person from a different religion may believe Muslims are violent based on some reported cases of violent or terrorist acts by few Muslims, that's a clear case of stereotype. Having a slight reaction or avoiding or not wanting to have anything to do with every Muslim you come in contact with is prejudice but acting on that by not hiring a qualified Muslim, antagonizing or not offering a service to one is discriminating. I used this example for clear emphasize as I have the seen several cases of prejudice, stereotyping and discrimination along the religion line. I believe no human deserves to be judged by the actions of the very few bad eggs in their class and no group is totally devoid of those bad eggs.
Though there are still those who see embracing humanity has been careless or 'not educating' as someone here put it recently. Many are beginning to see the light and not judge or discriminate against others by their affiliation or their group. We are now seeing an increase in the embracing of the candidacy of blacks or women in societies where that was previously termed 'not possible'.
Why are people exhibits prejudiced behaviours
Prejudice is not peculiar to any group. The group in the upper class, which assumes the role of protagonist, seems to have louder voices or stronger opinions than the lower group, the 'victims'. I believe it will likely be the same way if the table is turned. So why do members of a group exhibit bias towards the members of a different group, even when there is no need for it?
People naturally think everybody gets what they deserve. Human has the innate tendency of justifying that the world is just. We want to believe we get what we deserve when on the high spectrum of power and wealth, and neglect those advantages we have to start with. And the people on the other side of power and wealth also get what they deserve. This is referred to as the just-world phenomenon.
Also, people want to stick to their preconceived opinion and make quick judgements from that. It is rare to see human conceived they have been wrong unless some major event panned out. Changing the way someone, who have fed with ideas about a certain group of people, thinks is a daunting task. He would stick to what he has been 'taught' by his environment and consider anyone who thinks otherwise as not educating. Taking everyone from a group to have the same characteristics and behaviours is an easy way of categorizing and making decisions but it is rarely an accurate way.
Then there is 'us vs them' phenomenon. Human has an inner craving for association or affiliation. In any situations or environment, we find ourselves, we instinctively look for those with the same characteristics (it can start trivia such as dressing)as us that we can blend in with, which can drive prejudice as a subtle way of claiming our perceived superiority. We perceive there is some kind of safety in numbers. Anywhere there is the formation of groups across whatever line, there will be an ingroup bias. There is always the tendency of favouring our group or its members at the expense of the other group, which can be unreasonable.
Thank you for taking time to read.