stereotyping is in our nature. and, when we stereotype about race-related issues, we are racist.

pin is right, had i been worried about thiefs, i should have guarded my rucksack ALL the time, not extra when seeing the gypsy. my reaction was racist/discriminatory.

will i lose sleep over that?

not too much, thanks to maverick. since my prejudice didnt affect anyone, it should be ok. not ideal, but ok.

nevertheless, as pin said, if the gypsy saw my reaction, it probably hurt his feelings. for that i feel bad. and think this is a good barometer for these things.

i like this conversation a lot. thank you all.

Si ca sa nu se interpreteze gresit ce-am zis, pe mine ma vad rasista. Tot tiganii. Dar lucrez la eliminarea prejudecatilor.

I will always remember that. And hats off, my friend, for coining that.

I am very tempted to say things bubbling in my head, but I think I want to do some research and visit Auschwitz and then maybe I’ll write about that. In the meantime, I must say I really like the 1st and the 3rd barbed wire pictures. And the last one of the gate better than the first one (by bias in favor of horizontal shots).

“Instinctiv mi-am tras scaunul cu rucsacul mai aproape. E ăsta rasism? Prejudecată e sigur. Unde e diferenţa atunci?”

You raise a very interesting question. I think the movie Crash also dealt with some similar issues.

Is there a difference between racism and prejudice? Only that prejudice is more generic – you can be prejudiced based on age, sex, color, religion….. if you have prejudices based on race, you are a racist, same as you are a sexist if you have prejudices based on gender.

Is being a racist necessarily a bad thing? That’s the tricky question!

After all, if you are extra careful while driving when a female driver is overtaking you, you are being sexist (giving in to the female driver stereotype) but that’s not harming anyone, is it? Similarly, if you were extra careful with your rucksack around gypsies, that was prudent, even if racist. And what would you have done, had you tried to appear unbiased and not paid extra attention and your rucksack were stolen? What would your thoughts have been then?

I think most, if not all, of us have our thoughts informed by some stereotypes or the other. And while, as you said, one should judge individuals based on their own actions, one must consider the fact that there is a reason that stereotypes are what they are.

Once I read this somewhere – “Your rights end where my nose begins”, and I think that may be a good guiding principle. As long as our biases aren’t affecting others, it’s probably ok. I guess it is.

But I so completely agree on your point about judging individuals for what they personally are and do, rather than which group they belong to, how they dress or what they think.

Once again, I applaud you. Not many people, not many young people at any rate, have the capacity for deep introspection and self-examination.

Thanks for bringing this up. You have inspired me. I think I will write about this. Soon!