# 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:** 17
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/321 "2006-07-13T15:40:36Z")
> [@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? They’ve already had it done for them, by the Nazis. You think a Darwin fish offends people, try wearing a swastika. ---
**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 13, 2006, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/322 "2006-07-13T21:49:04Z")
> [@Pazu](#): > > They’ve already had it done for them, by the Nazis. You think a Darwin fish offends people, try wearing a swastika. I have absolutely no idea what your point is. Anyway, people who are into anime are weird and probably sexual deviants. ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/323 "2006-07-13T21:52:48Z")
> [@Pazu](#): > > They’ve already had it done for them, by the Nazis. You think a Darwin fish offends people, try wearing a swastika. > [@madmonk28](#): > > I have absolutely no idea what your point is. > > Anyway, people who are into anime are weird and probably sexual deviants. I think his point might have been that the swastika was already a sacred symbol to several religions/cultures (though not Christians AFAIK) before the Nazis co-opted it. ---
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/324 "2006-07-13T22:51:34Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > I think his point might have been that the swastika was already a sacred symbol to several religions/cultures (though not Christians AFAIK) before the Nazis co-opted it. More or less. The swastika has probably been irrevocably tainted by the Nazis, so any further attempts to “desecrate” it would really just be gilding the lily. And yes, the swastika is a sacred symbol in Buddhism, Shinto, and (I believe) Hinduism. So cry me a river for the Darwin fish to swim in. To the point of this thread: People who think Christianity is “under attack” in the USA are idiots with martyr complexes. ---
**Author:** ![YaWanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/bbce88/32.png) [@YaWanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YaWanna)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2006, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/325 "2006-07-13T23:15:46Z")
> [@Pazu](#): > > The swastika has probably been irrevocably tainted by the Nazis, so any further attempts to “desecrate” it would really just be gilding the lily. And yes, the swastika is a sacred symbol in Buddhism, Shinto, and (I believe) Hinduism. So cry me a river for the Darwin fish to swim in. :dubious: Nice logic. Sorta like “_my_ sister was murdered, so cry me a river for your sister who was only raped.” Nope, I agree that no one should purposely show disrespect for what is sacred to another. Regardless of who’s done it before, doesn’t give anyone else a “pass.” ---
**Author:** ![jobless82](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9f8e36/32.png) [@jobless82](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jobless82)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/326 "2006-07-14T00:27:09Z")
People who stick jesus fish on their cars are braindead fools who only want to advertise their religion on their mud-covered bumper b/c they think it makes them somehow superior to the average, faithless joe. My darwin fish is meant to make fun of these ninnies, not christianity in general. That being said, the average church-goer is, at best, mildly unintelligent. People who insist upon marrying eachother before the age of 25 are immature and deluded and will eventually get divorced. Women who get pregnant before the age of 25 are immature and careless/selfish and will be terrible mothers. All NYU students are artsy-pretentious and not very bright. In fact, the only reason I can see to GO to NYU is to surround yourself with people who are artsy-pretentious and not very bright (and proud of it). Anyone who automatically proclaims “Great Gatsby” to be their “favorite” book are not well-read but want you to think they are. Girls who shop at H&M are ninnies. Anyone who spends over $200 on a handbag/shirt/pair of jeans/pair of sunglasses is in serious need of reevaluation of their priorities. Young Indian-American women are always obsessed with the fact that they’re Indian (Indian from India, not Native American) Young white men whose girlfriends are Asian are shallow and only looking for trendy arm candy. Professional black women will have a chip on their shoulders. People who say they’re “writers” but have yet to publish anything are, 99% of the time, full of shit. Pontiac drivers are white trailer trash (very prevalent attitude where I’m from in upstate boondock ny) Quebecois are horrible drivers (ditto) I have more, but that’s probably enough for now… ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/327 "2006-07-14T00:57:00Z")
> [@Ensign Edison](#): > > Well then, for the same reason, I assume that all men between the ages of 15 and 30 who claim to be straight are lying. My choice of “usually” was odd, looking back on it, and an exaggeration. But in my experience as a male between the ages of 15-30 who’s known a _lot_ of women who claimed lesbianism between the ages of 15-30, the vast majority of the latter I’ve known were faking it for attention. I’m pretty completely traditionally-oriented, but I’ve done a sizeable amount of volunteering for LGBT causes in high school and college, and although I’ve known a lot of “real” lesbians between 15-30, I’ve known many more “lesbians” of those ages who obviously really weren’t, and/or have since admitted that they never were. If you’re arguing that “they usually are lying” was a vast overstatement, I’ll agree and I apologize. But it’s not something someone just made up. A lot of straight men between 15 and 30 find lesbianism attractive, and so straight women of course have good reason to pretend to be lesbians (or, even “better”, bisexuals). Have you attended a California high school in the last 5 years? If you’ve been to a college party any time in the last few years, as well, you’ve probably seen “alcohol lesbians” who make out with each other for male attention. It works every time. I have a near-unshakeable prejudice against people with an apparent compulsion to tell _other_ people what they want/need. ---
**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 14, 2006, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/328 "2006-07-14T01:05:10Z")
> [@YaWanna](#): > > :dubious: Nice logic. Sorta like “_my_ sister was murdered, so cry me a river for your sister who was only raped.” > > Nope, I agree that no one should purposely show disrespect for what is sacred to another. Regardless of who’s done it before, doesn’t give anyone else a “pass.” Especially if it was the Nazis who did it. Sheesh…what kind of an argument is that? ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/329 "2006-07-14T01:14:15Z")
> [@jobless82](#): > > Anyone who automatically proclaims “Great Gatsby” to be their “favorite” book are not well-read but want you to think they are. Wow. The irony works on so many levels, that I’d be afraid I was being whooshed if someone actually told me that and I believed them. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/330 "2006-07-14T02:39:24Z")
> [@fetus](#): > > My choice of “usually” was odd, looking back on it, and an exaggeration. But in my experience as a male between the ages of 15-30 who’s known a _lot_ of women who claimed lesbianism between the ages of 15-30, the vast majority of the latter I’ve known were faking it for attention. I’m pretty completely traditionally-oriented, but I’ve done a sizeable amount of volunteering for LGBT causes in high school and college, and although I’ve known a lot of “real” lesbians between 15-30, I’ve known many more “lesbians” of those ages who obviously really weren’t, and/or have since admitted that they never were. > > If you’re arguing that “they usually are lying” was a vast overstatement, I’ll agree and I apologize. But it’s not something someone just made up. A lot of straight men between 15 and 30 find lesbianism attractive, and so straight women of course have good reason to pretend to be lesbians (or, even “better”, bisexuals). Have you attended a California high school in the last 5 years? If you’ve been to a college party any time in the last few years, as well, you’ve probably seen “alcohol lesbians” who make out with each other for male attention. It works every time. **fetus** pretty well said everything I was going to say. Certainly, the vast majority of girls I knew in high school were into the whole “experimenting” faux-lesbian/bisexual thing. Some of them really were bisexual 😃 , and some of them had worked out that if they wanted a guys attention, the best way to get it was to start making out with their best (female) friend in front of him. It’s not so prevalent at University- at least not the one I’m at- because there’s a very active Militant Activist Feminazi Man-Hating Lesbian brigade that does a rather effective job of either scaring girls into being “straight” so people don’t think they’re MAFMHLs, or convincing them to give up on men once and for all and join the Sisterhood. At any rate, my experience has been that any _attractive_ woman between 16-25 who claims to be lesbian/bisexual is **usually** faking it to get some guy interested in her (ie, she’ll make out with another girl if drunk enough, but that’s as far as it will go). Certainly, most of the girls I knew (and know) are genuinely _are_ bisexual or lesbian make a point of NOT advertising it, because otherwise they get guys constantly hitting on them for a threesome. Sad, but true, apparently. And this is coming from a man who is rather fond of lesbian porn… 😃 ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/331 "2006-07-14T03:46:27Z")
[quote =jobless82 Anyone who automatically proclaims “Great Gatsby” to be their “favorite” book are not well-read but want you to think they are.[/quote] > [@Lightray](#): > > Wow. The irony works on so many levels, that I’d be afraid I was being whooshed if someone actually told me that and I believed them. Actually, I kind of agreed with **jobless82** here. Someone who tells me their favorite book is _The Great Gatsby_ is like someone you take to Baskin-Robbins and who orders three scoops of vanilla. It’s like “OK if that’s your favorite, but have you really tried anything else?” ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 5:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/332 "2006-07-14T05:25:38Z")
I believe that if you get all of your news from one source (or from only sources that agree with you), you’re uninformed. I have a serious prejudice against people who care how other people dress, especially if they say it out loud. Ditto people who judge others by the music they listen to. I also can’t stand when someone bitches about the sad state of the economy in the U.S., but owns a German (or British, or Japanese, or whatever) car. Buy whatever you want, but if you can’t support your own economy, you should shut up about it. Ditto anyone who complains about the sad state of their local downtown, but shops at Wal-Mart or buys locally-available products online. You want a great local economy? Support it! > [@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor](#): > > _Anybody_ who is wealthy and/or politically powerful is my enemy, and means me **no** good. Ah, the great paradox of our times. It is the American Dream ™ to start up a business and become successful. But if you actually pull it off, you automatically become the bad guy. I have a serious prejudice against people who judge others by how much money they have. I have friends with much more money than I do and friends with much less, and I value those friends equally. > [@Anaamika](#): > > You can add for my list: (snip) > People who own guns and refuse to teach their children gun safety. I’ll extend that: People who don’t teach their children gun safety. Period. Full stop. You may not own a gun, but that doesn’t mean your kids will never encounter one. Even if you live in a “gun-free” country, there are still guns out there. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_Robson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gary_robson/32/3448_2.png) [@Gary\_Robson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_Robson)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/333 "2006-07-14T05:59:21Z")
(hit “Submit” too soon) > [@Ichbin Dubist](#): > > I worked at a gas station part-time in college. All the attendants shared the prejudice that while truckers were mostly nice, people who drove diesel cars were mostly jerks Big prejudice of mine I forgot to mention! Anyone who drives a diesel car is an insensitive jerk by definition. Why else would you inflict the stench and noise on everyone around you? (Note: I specified “cars” here. I understand diesel trucks. I own a diesel tractor. But with cars, you have an option!) > [@Ichbin Dubist](#): > > If you’re a Caucasian male and your head is shaved, you have male pattern baldness. In my case, it meant I was going through chemotherapy. > [@davenportavenger](#): > > Another one: People who collect hardback books or Very Nice Editions of books are elitists. Did you ever consider that we just didn’t want to wait for it to come out in paperback? Or that we might like re-reading that particular book, so we got the more durable hardcover format? > [@fetus](#): > > …the bar is supposed to be the last public bastion of shameless vice indulgence and bigmouthery, and dirtymouthery as well. Oh, yeah. I have a serious prejudice against people who think it’s okay to be obnoxious and foul-mouthed just because they’re in a place that serves alchohol. > [@madmonk28](#): > > SUV drivers are stupid and insecure. Yeah, because everyone knows a Prius would do just fine towing my 7,000-pound horse trailer or driving down my 1/4-mile driveway when it has 18" of snow on it. I have a hardcore prejudice against people who judge what other people drive without considering the circumstances. > [@madmonk28](#): > > People who watch Fox News are ill-informed jerks who are afraid of the outside world. This fits under my “get all of your news from one source” prejudice. If you don’t watch Fox news _and_ a left-leaning channel, then you’re only validating your own beliefs. You want the full picture? Watch both! ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 6:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/334 "2006-07-14T06:23:49Z")
> [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > Big prejudice of mine I forgot to mention! Anyone who drives a diesel car is an insensitive jerk by definition. Why else would you inflict the stench and noise on everyone around you? (Note: I specified “cars” here. I understand diesel trucks. I own a diesel tractor. But with cars, you have an option!) FWIW, requirements for American diesel fuel are changing, and the smell will supposedly be gone because sulfur content will be lower. > [@InvisibleWombat](#): > > Oh, yeah. I have a serious prejudice against people who think it’s okay to be obnoxious and foul-mouthed just because they’re in a place that serves alchohol. I’ve never been in a bar, but there are lots of places that serve alcohol and that you can bring your kids to where adults aren’t expecting to unwind and enjoy adult priveleges without fear of offending someone and their child. These places are called restaurants. ---
**Author:** ![Pazu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pazu/32/15522_2.png) [@Pazu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pazu)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 7:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/335 "2006-07-14T07:08:49Z")
> [@YaWanna](#): > > :dubious: Nice logic. Sorta like “_my_ sister was murdered, so cry me a river for your sister who was only raped.” > > Nope, I agree that no one should purposely show disrespect for what is sacred to another. Regardless of who’s done it before, doesn’t give anyone else a “pass.” 😕 Um, I’m not the one who brought up Hindus and Buddhists in the first place, and I’m not trying to give anything a “pass”. My point was that if you (generic “you”) wanted to pick religions that might appear sacrosanct to the folks who “desecrate” Christian symbols, as implied here: > [@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? it’s rather ironic to pick two whose religious symbol has been so thoroughly besmirched that not only does a large fraction of the world view it as an icon of pure evil, they also don’t know that it ever meant anything else. I can’t even imagine how it could be desecrated further. **Back to the thread topic:** People who board planes before their row number is called (with the obvious exceptions) are self-important schmucks. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/336 "2006-07-14T12:51:56Z")
> [@OneCentStamp](#): > > Actually, I kind of agreed with **jobless82** here. Someone who tells me their favorite book is _The Great Gatsby_ is like someone you take to Baskin-Robbins and who orders three scoops of vanilla. It’s like “OK if that’s your favorite, but have you really tried anything else?” My point was that, since Gatsby himself had a library full of impressive books that he hadn’t even cut the pages apart on, for someone to toss out _The Great Gatsby_ as their all-time favorite they’re either (1) the victim of their own irony, since you’d think _they_ don’t read many books, or (2) someone with a dry, ironic wit, because they like a book _about_ a guy who doesn’t read books but only namedrops them. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/337 "2006-07-14T13:00:44Z")
I love animals…except for monkeys. I don’t know why. There’s something about them that irritates me. I hope a little capuchin never runs up and starts trying to groom me, because I’m afraid I would fling it far, far away. I _want_ to like monkeys. I don’t know why I feel this way. Maybe I was maligned by a monkey in a past life or something. I **do** like apes, oddly enough. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/338 "2006-07-14T15:08:45Z")
Most of my prejudices have been pretty badly shaken. Seriously. I was a lot more cocksure of myself years ago. I’m not sure why. Perhaps part of it is that without being an outright “devil’s advocate”, I tend to think a little contrary to whatever groupthink I’m exposed to. So I’ll be the one saying “surely not ALL Repblicans are evil…Lincoln was a Republican,” during a right-bashing session. After talking like that for a long time, I’ve started to think like that too. So now I consciously try to take things on a case-by-case basis. I still _have_ prejudices, it’s just that they’re all cowed and hangdog and don’t assert themselves much. Sailboat ---
**Author:** ![OneCentStamp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/13edae/32.png) [@OneCentStamp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OneCentStamp)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2006, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/339 "2006-07-14T15:11:49Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > My point was that, since Gatsby himself had a library full of impressive books that he hadn’t even cut the pages apart on, for someone to toss out _The Great Gatsby_ as their all-time favorite they’re either (1) the victim of their own irony, since you’d think _they_ don’t read many books, or (2) someone with a dry, ironic wit, because they like a book _about_ a guy who doesn’t read books but only namedrops them. Ah, so in other words, we were actually pretty much on the same page, and I was so close to being whooshed that it parted my hair. 😉 ---
**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 14, 2006, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351/340 "2006-07-14T15:49:49Z")
> [@Pazu](#): > > 😕 Um, I’m not the one who brought up Hindus and Buddhists in the first place, and I’m not trying to give anything a “pass”. My point was that if you (generic “you”) wanted to pick religions that might appear sacrosanct to the folks who “desecrate” Christian symbols, as implied here: > > it’s rather ironic to pick two whose religious symbol has been so thoroughly besmirched that not only does a large fraction of the world view it as an icon of pure evil, they also don’t know that it ever meant anything else. I can’t even imagine how it could be desecrated further. None of this has anything to do with my point. I asked if the kinnd of person who would desecrate a Christian symbol would also knowingly desecrate a Buddhist or Hindu symbol. The fact that someone else has desecrated those symbols is completely irrelevant to my point. Back to the OP: People who are overly concerned about having a pure-bred dog, especially if it is the flavor of the month breed, aren’t really dog people. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351.md?page=16) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-unshakable-prejudices-do-you-have/363351.md?page=18)