In today’s increasingly diverse population, one would think that it would be easier to be open-minded, tolerant and inclusive.  Prejudices against those who are not like oneself is detrimental to all of us. Even if we just consider simple economics, we are all better off when we respect each other.  To be creators and consumers in our collective society, it would seem wise to include all kinds of people in our ventures, in order to succeed in business and to have workable relationships.

This is a logical thing to do.  The more consumers of goods and services can vary, the more avenues for new business can prosper.  This creates a mutually beneficial enterprise.  

While living in Southern California in the 80’s, I remember thinking that there weren’t as many racial prejudices as in the Midwest, where I grew up.  While I found this generally to be true, I was shocked to discover that one of my next-door neighbors thought it was okay to use racial slurs in a conversation.

The experience of discovering this fact caused me to think about such prejudices from different perspectives.  It occurred to me, after studying this more extensively, that one of the reasons most people interacted with others that they disliked, was simple economics.  By creating products that catered to this or that group, an opportunity to make money was initiated.  By selling particular goods or services that attracted a particular segment of the population, one could find niche opportunities.

I observed that by doing these things, prejudice inadvertently facilitated a new way of doing business.  In this way, unique markets were created.  So, the seller and consumer were now connected in a symbiotic way.  Eventually, people would come into contact with each other in different situations, and perhaps even a tiny step toward a cooperative exchange could materialize and relationships could be formed.

There was a lot of diversity in our neighborhood.  When my husband went to check out the school that our children would attend, he said that the children had just lined up after recess to return to the classroom.  He said it looked like they had just filmed the Coke commercial with all the children from many cultures singing together, “I’d like to teach the world to sing …  “ The people I came into contact with, at my children’s school and at church were very inclusive.  So, other than my neighbor, I did not witness negative racial prejudices.  That does not mean that there weren’t any, but it was not blatant.

Prejudices give unfair advantages to the majority over the minority and the wealthy over the poor.  The questions to ask are:  “What actions are beneficial to society as a whole?  Do we evolve and thrive, as a society, by leveling the playing field?  Do we value equality?”  The way in which these questions are answered will determine the collective future of people in our society.  The next generation will either benefit from, or suffer the effects of our decisions.  We have nothing to lose by ridding ourselves of negative prejudices, and so much to gain.