Difference Between Discrimination And Prejudice
It is a person’s response to a factor (internal or external) that defines human behavior. Human behavior is calculated in such a manner that it decides the individual growth and survival of man against the environment. Several other factors like ethics, persuasion, genetics, emotion, culture etc influences human behavior.
The customs and regulations of the society decide which and how the human behaviors are accepted or not. Some of the behaviors are suitable whereas some are not accepted. There are usual behaviors while some are out of ordinary and even controversial.
Prejudice and discrimination are two of the human behaviors that create most controversy. All throughout the history of mankind, the human beings were known to show both these emotions that could be applied not only in case of other human beings but in case of incidents, materials, etc.
Both these behaviors suggest pessimistic attitude towards someone and may indicate the same situations. Is spite of the similarity these behaviors are different. Both of them harmonize each other as discrimination happens because of a prejudice and it is prejudice that leads to discrimination. As far as the definition of discrimination is concerned, it can be said that discrimination is unreasonable behavior towards a person or a crowd of people due to some prejudice. Discrimination may vary from very meek discriminations like preferring some particular food over others to extreme discrimination like sexism (selective behavior against the opposite sex)
There is cronyism that is all about granting favors to friends, racial bigotry which indicates unfair behavior towards certain people from different race, heterosexism that is all about bigotry against the homosexual people etc. Thus we can see that discrimination is all about partiality towards something or some people. Discrimination represents prejudice and it is manifested by the outlook, deeds and speech of a person and represents prejudice.
Prejudice is nothing but a postulation regarding something and is an action based on a variety of things like religion, caste, gender, sexual orientation. However these people do not have adequate knowledge to back such judgment. Thus it is perfectly clear that it is a totally unclear premature conception that is not backed by proper knowledge. Two of the most commonly found prejudices are partiality and taboo. The way people are brought up and the traditions and culture determine the development of prejudices.
The way people communicate with other people express their prejudice and their discrimination is manifested against anything without having the slightest knowledge of it. Prejudice takes place in the mind whereas discrimination transforms the thinking process into action.
Summary:
1. Discrimination is the display of unfair manners towards a person based on someone’s mind-set and prejudice is a person’s conjecture about something.
2. Discrimination is the expression of prejudice or application of prejudice into deeds and prejudice is just a conceptual notion in the mind of people.
3.Both of these behaviors are evident in a person’s deeds, words, and stance. However prejudice is restricted to the thinking process of a man, discrimination is quite obvious.
4. The way people communicate with other people express their prejudice and their discrimination is manifested against anything without having the slightest knowledge of it. Prejudice takes place in the mind whereas discrimination transforms the thinking process into action.