Joe Dees wrote
> The idea you [Loree] are putting forward is, I believe, that to treat
> an individual member of a class as if a statistical tendency of the
> class automatically applied to the individual... rather than to treat
> such a person AS an individual... is discrimination.
Yes.
> However, I consider such treatment to be prejudice, as one is
> prejudging the individual based upon the tendencies of their
> class, rather than judging him/her on his/her individual merits.
> Perhaps discrimination is that action that is taken on the basis
> of prejudice.
It's even more complicated when we take into consideration the
particular *action* that is taken. I heard a young black woman
on the radio relate that where she lived, if she saw four black
men coming down the street, she'd go to the other side, but
would not do so if she saw four white men coming. (I don't
really wish to speculate what the reasons could be for this;
it's entirely possible, for example, that in her neighborhood
black women are considered fair game by black men, but not by
white men.)
But it doesn't matter. Was she discriminating in the sense of
definition 1? Or merely prejudiced? Or neither? Does her
own race have a bearing?
> From Random House Webster's College dictionary
> (copyright 1999):
>
> Discriminate:
> 1) to make a distinction in favor of or against
> a person on the basis of the group or class
> to which that person belongs, rather than
> according to merit.
> 2) to note or observe a difference.
Lee
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