Discussion 2: Bubble Gum Pop

Our society's concept of prejudice generally seems to take two extremes: an acceptance that we are prejudiced to some extent (presented humorously in the musical Avenue Q "Everybody's A Little Racist") to a standard that prejudice of any kind is unacceptable.

In this week's readings, stereotypes are described as residents of the "unconscious mind" (Ewen and Ewen, 8). In the introduction of the study Stereotypes and Prejudice, Devine distinguished between activation of stereotypes versus beliefs; the former is automatic, while the latter is consciously activated. The author even compared the process of removing the influence of stereotypes from actions to getting rid of a bad habit.

With all that in mind, I wondered if we can definitively say: is prejudice excusable? Must we all undergo the process of controlling our actions or do we give some level of allowance to those who have not?