# What unshakable prejudices do you have? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 6, 2006, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351 "2006-07-06T12:25:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 15
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/281 "2006-07-12T03:01:49Z")
> [@Mirror Image egamI rorriM](#): > > However, if you know me and know that I don’t drink, and continue to offer me alcohol (especially if you are drunk), that makes you a moron. And there is nothing you can do to convince me otherwise. Well, I’m drunk. Of course I’m going to forget that you don’t drink. And not allowing for that makes you an insufferable prig. And there is nothing you can do to convince me otherwise. But we’re speaking hypothetically, of course. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mirror\_Image\_egamI\_rorriM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mirror_Image_egamI_rorriM)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/282 "2006-07-12T03:14:02Z")
> [@spoke-](#): > > Well, I’m drunk. Of course I’m going to forget that you don’t drink. And not allowing for that makes you an insufferable prig. And there is nothing you can do to convince me otherwise. > > But we’re speaking hypothetically, of course. 🙂 I don’t hang out with drunks, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/283 "2006-07-12T03:28:05Z")
Ah, then it _was_ all hypothetical! ---
**Author:** ![Bobotheoptimist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/919ad9/32.png) [@Bobotheoptimist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bobotheoptimist)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/284 "2006-07-12T03:50:49Z")
> [@Martini Enfield](#): > > The sort of thinking you espouse leads us to crazy nonsensical gun laws where it’s actually easier to buy a sniper rifle than it is to get a pump-action shotgun (to which non-gun people are saying “what’s the difference?”, while gun people are nodding their heads in understanding) We (USA) suffered under this kind of brainless knee-jerk legislation under Clinton. The “assault rifle” ban did nothing but regulate what a gun could _look_ like. An AR-15 was legal, as long as it didn’t have a bayonet lug (yes, a semi-auto, civilian version of the military rifle was banned if you could attach a small knife to it). > [@Guinastasia](#): > > Guns-I don’t really have an opinion on guns themselves one way or another, but people who are really hyper and obsessed over them freak me out. Chill, all right? No one is trying to take it away from you. Guns aren’t bad, but not everyone has to have one. The problem is that people have tried to take them away. But I agree that people that get all hyper about guns (either way) around people who don’t care are kinda weird. I get just as freaked out by camo-wearing “militia” members as I do by Handgun Control, inc. Mine, since I’m here - Vegetarians are annoying and judgmental and are doing it just to feel superior Gun control proponents are shivering cowards Creationists are brainwashed automatons Racists… well, I refuse to admit that my hatred of racists is irrational. Anyone that intentionally hurts a child is in the same category People who don’t understand that the phrase “created equal” A) doesn’t imply a creator and B) _does_ include gays, atheists, women, Hispanics, ALL people, not just your little group. Liberals are intolerant hippies Conservatives are intolerant bible-thumpers Anyone that agrees with me too often is trying to suck up or doesn’t have brains enough to form their own opinion People that drive big trucks around the city and bitch about gas prices just want you to know that they are tuff enuff to drive a big Mantruck Jeez, I’m annoying me just writing this - I don’t particularly care for myself when I start complaining. ---
**Author:** ![Cardinal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardinal/32/4000_2.png) [@Cardinal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardinal)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/285 "2006-07-12T04:25:39Z")
> [@Dr. Love](#): > > [Re: Jesus fish on cars] > I agree with this. In my opinion, creationists are missing out on the most beautiful and wonderous things in nature. Those two things are not partners, no matter how many people tell you they are. Is every Democrat in favor of handing out condoms at high schools? ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 5:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/286 "2006-07-12T05:18:25Z")
Apparently my earlier posted prejudices weren’t enough to get a rise out of anyone. Here’s another: Whenever I come across a conventionally attractive female between the ages of 15 and 30 who says she’s lesbian, I assume it’s either a sham or a phase. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/287 "2006-07-12T05:49:00Z")
I have a bunch that will piss everyone off People who still support Bush after the past years of evidence are dumb; Darwin fish on cars, I believe in evolution, but the Christian fish is a religous symbol and I don’t see the point in desecrating it. I’m not a Christian, but I wouldn’t desecrate a Christian symbol any more than I would desecrate a Muslim, Jewish or any other religous symbol. People who obsess about guns and “gun rights” have deep psycho-sexual issues relating to guns. People who live in the suburbs but say they are from the nearest city are insecure about living in the burbs and want people to think they are cooler than they are. Anyone who listens to Rush, O’Reilly, etc. are stupid. SUV drivers are stupid and insecure. Smokers who throw their butts in the street are insensitive, stupid, insecure, and generally unhappy people. People who are opposed to gay marriage are jerks, and probably insecure in their sexuality. People who think Major League is the greatest baseball movie made in the past 20 years are idiots (this applies to a very specific incident). Americans who are ingnorant of the outside world, geography and international politics are lazy, there is no exuse with all the access to information out there to be that ignorant. People who watch Fox News are ill-informed jerks who are afraid of the outside world. Frat boys are jerks, anyone who still talks about their Greek house well after college is over are not fully adjusted adults (listing your frat/soroirity on a resume is a sign of immaturity) I’m sure I’ll think of others. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/288 "2006-07-12T06:25:37Z")
> [@Elza B](#): > > Baby names. If I hear a parent has given their child a weird name or misspelled a traditional name to make it look YOONEEK (like Aidyn, Marrandah, or Benjymyn - all three spellings I’ve seen), I immediately assume the parents are idiots. Hee hee. My name is Benjamin and I’m half-tempted to spell my name that way if only to cut down on the stupid “Hey Benjamin, Been jammin’?”, and the jokes about Bengay. I really harbor resentment toward whatever focus group greenlighted that product name. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/289 "2006-07-12T13:56:48Z")
> [@Inner Stickler](#): > > Hee hee. My name is Benjamin and I’m half-tempted to spell my name that way if only to cut down on the stupid “Hey Benjamin, Been jammin’?”, and the jokes about Bengay. I really harbor resentment toward whatever focus group greenlighted that product name. Add me to the club…as a Benjamin growing up in the 80s, I also had to put up with Benji (i.e. the Disney movie dog) and Ben Franklin (the five-and-dime store, not the inventor and diplomat). In junior high it was Ben Dover (get it? huh huh huh). I grew up hating my own given name. Now, of course, I like it just fine. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![KRC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/45deac/32.png) [@KRC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KRC)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/290 "2006-07-12T14:28:53Z")
Anyone who is fanatical about cats, whether they obsessively love cats or obsessively hate them. I’m convinced such people are unbalanced. Campus Republicans (and I don’t mean college students who vote Republican, I mean the “I may be in college but I’m a conservative” types. These are the ones who get all their information from Limbaugh and Coulter.) Likewise I have a prejudice against Campus Progressives (not the students who sometimes support progressive causes, the types who fancy themselves to be revolutionaries or who incessantly quote Marx.) Vegetarians (yes, I’ve met plenty who aren’t sanctimonious but when I hear someone’s a vegetarian my first thought is that they have a “holier than thou” attitude.) Totally irrational prejudices (I’m sure there’s a reason for them but I don’t have time to figure it out): People who quote Ghandi (yeah, I probably spelled his name wrong.) People who read self help books Middle class housewives People who eat sprouts I’m sure I’ll think of more. ---
**Author:** ![Ensign\_Edison](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7ab992/32.png) [@Ensign\_Edison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ensign_Edison)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/291 "2006-07-12T14:54:02Z")
People can hate rap, though it means we’ll never be really good friends. But people who say it’s not music go straight to my shitlist. The arrogance astounds me, among other things. People who talk about the “PC police” or proudly proclaim how “not poltically correct” they are. They might as well put on a white sheet and start waving a can of gas around, as far as I’m concerned. “Not fair!” Don’t care. Talk like an adult or into the clown suit you go. People who think language is a set of rules written down somewhere and breaking them will lead to anarchy in the streets – they just want to pretend they’re too smart to understand what’s said to them by those they think they’re superior to. This dubious strategy itself betrays the lack of brightness. Those who believe in homeopathy can’t be trusted. Huge fans of Star Wars probably have bad taste in general, while believing they have better taste than most. People who act like they’re the lord of all creation just because they’re the customer are secretly like that all the time, in their heads. Someone whose books are too pristine is probably bad in bed. People who really love Star Trek (like myself) probably have good taste in general, and are extremely modest too. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/292 "2006-07-12T15:08:42Z")
> [@Cardinal](#): > > Those two things are not partners, no matter how many people tell you they are. Is every Democrat in favor of handing out condoms at high schools? This is the reason that I harbor a prejudice towards people who have the Darwin fish on their car. The Christian fish symbol has nothing to do with Creationism…it is a symbol for Christ, which is based on a Greek anagram for the words “Jesus Christ, God’s Son, Savior.” It also refers to the fish imagery used in the bible, such as when Jesus told Peter that he was to be a “fisher of men.” It is a symbol that is far, far, older than the theory of evolution. Some people who have the fish on their car may be creationists, but the vast majority probably aren’t. The implication of the Darwin fish that belief in evolution is not compatible with Christianity shows a basic misunderstanding of Christianity in general, and what the fish symbol stands for. And, as **madmonk28** points out, it shows disrespect towards an important Christian symbol. Not nice. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/293 "2006-07-12T18:16:54Z")
The probability of a marriage’s ending in divorce is directly proportional to the amount of money spent on the wedding and associated costs, and jumps up even higher if the couple goes into debt (or goes further into debt) to pay for the wedding, rings, showers/bachelor parties, etc. **Sarahfeena** , **madmonk28** , do you have a problem with the “Gefilte” fish some people have on their cars? It is a parody of the Christian fish, but it’s not saying anything negative about Christianity. I could really see a reasonable person going either way- I’m just asking. > [@madmonk28](#): > > People who live in the suburbs but say they are from the nearest city are insecure about living in the burbs and want people to think they are cooler than they are. Or might just be far from home, or from an obscure suburb, and figure nobody’s heard of the suburb, but everyone’s heard of the city. I like the suburb where I live, but when I’m travelling, I always say I’m from “near San Francisco”. But when I’m around here, I will give the name of the suburb (withheld here for privacy reasons). ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/294 "2006-07-12T18:34:36Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#): > > **Sarahfeena** , **madmonk28** , do you have a problem with the “Gefilte” fish some people have on their cars? It is a parody of the Christian fish, but it’s not saying anything negative about Christianity. I could really see a reasonable person going either way- I’m just asking. That’s so funny…I work in a heavily Jewish suburb, and I have never seen that! But, no, I would not have a problem with it, because it doesn’t strike me as a direct slam at Christianity the way the Darwin fish does. I think the thing that really bothers me about the Darwin fish it is that it implies that Christianity is incompatible with science (you may believe in Jesus, but _I_ believe in evolution!), and that is really insulting. The “gefilte fish” thing just seems like a joke, and that is another thing entirely, at least IMO. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/295 "2006-07-12T18:54:25Z")
> [@Anne Neville](#): > > **Sarahfeena** , **madmonk28** , do you have a problem with the “Gefilte” fish some people have on their cars? It is a parody of the Christian fish, but it’s not saying anything negative about Christianity. I could really see a reasonable person going either way- I’m just asking. I’ve never seen it, but like **Sarahfeena** probably not. I just don’t understand the need to go out of one’s way to desecrate someone else’s religious symbol. Would these same people desecrate a Hindu or Buddhist symbol? ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/296 "2006-07-12T19:03:42Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I’ve never seen it, but like **Sarahfeena** probably not. I just don’t understand the need to go out of one’s way to desecrate someone else’s religious symbol. Would these same people desecrate a Hindu or Buddhist symbol? That IS a good question. In the gefilte fish case, I would chalk it up to people not really understanding that it is actually a symbol for God in the Christian religion. I’m inclined to give these folks the benefit of the doubt that if they realized it, they would probably think twice about co-opting it for a joke. ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/297 "2006-07-12T19:09:11Z")
I should add that I think that anyone who is inclined to use another religions’ symbols in order to make a joke should perhaps stop and think how they would feel if the same was done to them. ---
**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 7:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/298 "2006-07-12T19:30:52Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I just don’t understand the need to go out of one’s way to desecrate someone else’s religious symbol. Would these same people desecrate a Hindu or Buddhist symbol? Couple of things possibly going on here: Some people who would put a Darwin fish on their car are ex-Christians. It’s very natural (though not necessarily admirable) to think negative things about a religion (or any other group or worldview) that you once belonged to and later left. If you’re not a particularly tactful person, that might extend to desecrating religious symbols. And then there are those who think the Jesus fish is (or has become over the years) a silly example of popular culture co-opting a religious symbol. They’re not making fun of the fish symbol itself, but the phenomenon of mass marketing them for people to put on their cars. I don’t think Christianity is silly, far from it, but I do think some of the Christian kitsch that is sold is silly (the WWJD bracelets and some “inspirational” artwork, for example). Of course, I am aware that there’s equally silly Jewish kitsch (Judaikitsch). My attitude toward that stuff has nothing to do with my attitude toward the faith (I think the same about the tacky Jewish stuff as about the tacky Christian stuff, and I definitely don’t feel the same about those two faiths), but toward the way that person chooses to express it. It’s done in the spirit of a rear-window sticker I once saw, done to look like numerous college stickers people put on their rear window, saying “Your college sucks”. It’s not making fun of any particular college, or of college in general, but of the practice of putting college stickers on your rear window. I’ve seen the “Gefilte” fish for sale at a bookstore in Berkeley, but haven’t seen many on actual cars. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/299 "2006-07-12T19:39:34Z")
> [@Sarahfeena](#): > > I should add that I think that anyone who is inclined to use another religions’ symbols in order to make a joke should perhaps stop and think how they would feel if the same was done to them. I’m an atheist. Does that mean that every religious symbol is fair game to me? ---
**Author:** ![Sarahfeena](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sarahfeena/32/519_2.png) [@Sarahfeena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sarahfeena)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2006, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/300 "2006-07-12T19:41:29Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > I’m an atheist. Does that mean that every religious symbol is fair game to me? Is that a serious question? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351.md?page=14) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351.md?page=16)