Everyone is prejudiced and uses stereotypes, but prejudice can lead to

unequal treatment. Are we doing enough to tackle prejudices around the

world?

The young writer Igor Melkin said: "Sometimes it seems to me that the most
difficult test for a modern person is not to get bogged down in stereotypes and not
drown in unnecessary opinions”. We are all captive to stereotypes and often make
decisions based not on logic, but under the influence of established public opinion.
And in this case, the solution is not optimal. Prejudices break society and all this
leads to unequal treatment.

Often we judge people and their actions, using stereotypes that “turn on” in us
faster and work flawlessly. For example, the situation: you were pushed into the
subway. What was the first thought that came to your mind? Did it happen by
accident or on purpose? At such moments, the inadequate assessment of the
situation disappear without a trace. When we are pushed, we think that the action
of a person and his essence are inseparable. What he does is part of his personality.
We do not look at the situation more broadly, trying to understand why this or that
event happened. Furthermore, We do not think that, even having caused us
inconvenience, the person not only did not want it, but was forced to do it, because
he was in a hurry or did not even notice that he stepped on his foot. In a situation
where we are uncomfortable, we conclude: if we were done badly, then the
offender is automatically bad. Consequently, we have a barrier between a person,
which is difficult for us to overcome due to incorrect beliefs.

The influence of stereotypes on a person can be extremely negative, and in fact

most of them contain precisely false knowledge and become prejudices. For
instance, gender stereotypes are already so firmly entrenched in the minds of
people that today men and women are assigned certain social roles, which makes
gender equality almost impossible. From almost every man you can hear that
women do not know how to drive, they are poorly versed in technology and
politics. Few people at the same time think that among women there are truckers,
programmers and politicians, likewise, men often cook well and take care of
children. It turns out that such a social stereotype can have a very detrimental
effect: when an image is “tried on” for a certain person, the opportunity to discern
individuality in it, to understand the desires and needs of this person disappears,
which means that such a stereotype does not allow building relationships or
maintaining them.

Are we doing enough to tackle prejudices around the world? I cannot say that
society is making every effort to remove stereotypes. However, I cannot say that
we do nothing. We try to talk about it, for example, about gender issues. Women
become politicians, they run businesses. In fact, it is not enough and efforts are not
enough. First, we need to judge a person before communication, and after.
Secondly, we should communicate with different people as much as possible in
order to get rid of the ideal picture in our head. In addition to this , always listen to
yourself, and not to the opinion of society. If we consider all these points, we can
get rid of judgments.

In conclusion, I want to say that stereotypes have a strong impact on society and
there is unequal treatment in relation to others. Nevertheless, Even with the best of
intentions, people's reactions to minorities can have serious consequences. Small
differences in attitude tend to accumulate.

“Any walls on your way are your stereotypes, you don’t need to rest against them,
you need to break them.”
Mark Dewalt