Are Your Opinions Fair?

[Leon]

Non of us want to be classed as opinionated, yet I am sure we all hold opinions that are tainted by our life experiences. For instance, if the only two people you know from Scotland, were tight spending their money, you may think all Scottish people are tight. I know this is an untrue fact, as I have seen many generous Scottish people. But people can stereotype, or hold opinions about certain subjects, without knowing the full facts. One bad experience and an whole race or grouping of people is tarred with the same brush. Are your opinions fair?

[gruntal]

One of the more interesting aspects of living where I do is that I sometimes experience the culture wars in person. They are not very pleasant but they are very real. My efforts are only more difficult when I get older and weaker and to see them wasted when sabotage occurs is very discouraging. Legal recourse is wasted when people are judgement proof; when they are not even fellow citizens they often are not even incarcerated - they get sent back over the border to where they came from.

So why would an ancestral Scotts-Irish move to a community of Mexicans? At one level it isnt going to work no matter where you live because the problem is YOU and you dont fit in anywhere. At another level it can't fail because you can always find something or someone special where ever you go if you look.

As for everything in between: the best advice I received was "profiling" was not legal but I wasn't bound by legalities. If it looked suspicious it was my duty to report. Be realistic. It could save much harm. I am sure the others are doing the same to me.

" I never met the man I didn't like. " Good! But when you or your loved ones or your precious artifacts are at risk and you think you see it coming a little predudice is prudent.

Because life is NOT fair. And that is a fact of life. Only you can decide to try to make it so. But it is absurd to think it will not be without risk. Or that the old wounds never hurt when you know they did.

[aceofcups]

Interesting question Leon. when I first saw title of question wasn't sure about where you were goign with it.

The types of prejudiced opinions against groups or classes of people .ie racial discrimination...is harming and disruptive to Unity and the growth of Humanity and oneself. Sometimes the seeds of these prejudges are born from family or friends or one's social upbringing. As one gets more spiritually aware, that we are all One ultimately, hopefully one sheds those damaging and sometimes even unconscious beliefs. One hopefully realizes those types of opinions are not helpful to oneself or the world.

But there is a different type of opinion's which can be almost a spiritual tool if used correctly.. It is learning spiritual discernment. The gift of discernment is the ability to recognize what is truly genuine for oneself from what is pretense; what is truly from one's Higher Self and Heart and what is just an ego wish or desire.

peace.

[baangus]

Feb 26, 2014 16:39:14 GMT aceofcups said:

"But there is a different type of opinion's which can be almost a spiritual tool if used correctly.. It is learning spiritual discernment. The gift of discernment is the ability to recognize what is truly genuine for oneself from what is pretense; what is truly from one's Higher Self and Heart and what is just an ego wish or desire."

Exactly aceofcups. That's the one observation and answer I would have given as well.

[sparklekaz]

I have long since learned not to make instant judgements about people. Having been wrong too many times. I like to think that I am an open minded person, and don't hold on to stereotyping people. Though I concede that our opinions and beliefs can be influenced by other people, even if it is an unconscious thing. I do think, that this is more of a younger and inexperienced person's trait. Someone who relies heavily on information picked up from their friends who are more experienced and more worldly, elder relatives.

I to like how ace put it, that the gift of discernment, is not the same as being prejudiced or narrow minded. But this ability I feel comes over time and maturity. I think if we are honest, we have all done the same things when we were younger. Experience of life and meeting people from different countries and backgrounds is our greatest teacher. I believe ignorance is the true cause of this problem. I don't think we can blame people for behaving or reacting in a certain way if they know no better. I think one thing we can all do, is if we come across cases of prejudice or discrimination. Is to not go along with it, if we disagree. By staying silent we just validate that other persons opinion's.

I used to work at an advice centre, helping people apply for different benefits. One of the biggest prejudices I encountered, was the popular opinion that immigrants to our country were immediately given accommodation and government benefits. I don't know how many times I tried to tell people, that only certain groups of people were entitled to this, those whose countries had a similar reciprocal agreement with our own. That, the majority of people had to support themselves entirely under their own efforts for at least 2 years. Even the children that were born to them in this country who were British, they could not claim child benefit for until their immigration status had been resolved. And this could take a very long time. I could tell my words often fell on deaf ears, and they just did not want to know anything different. So sometimes I'm sad to say, people don't want to know the truth, and will hang on to a lie to justify their own ill feelings towards people.

At the end of the day, though, I think we should remember, that all we are doing is sharing our own beliefs and opinions based on 'our' experiences. And that just as in life we are all unique, so will our experiences be. I've come across many misconceptions and poor opinions about races of people in my life. I might have even shared them myself at one time; until I actually traveled to those countries and met those people. I don't think anything can beat experiencing something first hand. But it is still well to remember, that two people can go to the same place, meet the same people and still have different encounters. I suppose the important thing is always to remain open minded, and as others have said, one individual, is not representative of the whole race, be that good or bad.

Love and light
Kaz

[sagemode]

I agree that there is a difference between judgement and discernment. To the ego, discernment is judgement and judgement is often seen as discernment. You may encounter people who may judge you for the truth you state. Discrimination literally means discernment. It all depends on the underlying intention, was it done as an attack or not? Perhaps you are simply stating the obvious for helpful reasons. Perhaps you are projecting inferiority onto another. It really depends on where you are coming from, and only you can be the judge for that, because people will disagree - there are always people who will disagree with your behaviour or actions or words.

A word I came across for someone who sees or describes racism when it's not there, was "reverse racism". Someone called Africa the "dark continent" because of its poverty. Someone else considered that racist. People who are pointing fingers are often not clean themselves. They may victimize themselves, etc.