Prejudice Quotes - Page 37

• We are really so prejudiced by our educations, that, as the ancients deified their heroes, we deify their madmen.

  Lord Chesterfield

  Hero, Madmen

  Lord Chesterfield (2008). “The Modern Chesterfield”, p.76, Wildside Press LLC

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• Justice is immortal, eternal, and immutable, like God Himself; and the development of law is only then a progress when it is directed towards those principles which like Him, are eternal; and whenever prejudice or error succeeds in establishing in customary law any doctrine contrary to eternal justice.

  Lajos Kossuth

  Law, Errors, Justice

  Lajos Kossuth (1853). “Select speeches, condensed and abridged by F.W. Newman”, p.91

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• These people in the North-East of Ireland, from old prejudices perhaps more than from anything else, from the whole of their past history, would prefer, I believe, to accept the government of a foreign country rather than submit to be governed by hon. Gentlemen below the Gangway.

  Bonar Law

  Country, Party, Believe

  Bonar Law's speech in the House of Commons, api.parliament.uk. January 1, 1913.

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• A letter is paradoxically the most revealing and the most deceptive of confessional revelations. We all have our inconsistencies, prejudices, irrationalities which, although strongly felt at the time, may be transitory. A letter captures the mood of the moment. The transitory becomes immutably fixed, part of the evidence for the prosecution or the defence.

  P. D. James

  Letters, May, Moments

  P. D. James (2007). “Time to Be in Earnest”, p.85, Vintage

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• I've an irritating chuckle, I've a celebrated sneer,
  I've an entertaining snigger, I've a fascinating leer;
  To everybody's prejudice I know a thing or two;
  I can tell a woman's age in half a minute--and I do

  W. S. Gilbert

  Two, Age, Half

  'Princess Ida' (1884) act 1

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• Common sense consists of those layers of prejudice laid down before the age of 18.

  Albert Einstein

  Common Sense, Age, Layers

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• We have been saying, Lucy, that 'tis the strangest thing in the world people should quarrel about religion, since we undoubtedly all mean the same thing; all good minds in every religion aim at pleasing the Supreme Being; the means we take differ according to where we are born, and the prejudices we imbibe from education; a consideration which ought to inspire us with kindness and indulgence to each other.

  Frances Brooke

  Kindness, Women, Mean

  Frances Brooke (2010). “The History of Emily Montague”, p.112, New Canadian Library

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• There are still generations of people, older people, who were born and bred and marinated in it, in that prejudice and racism, and they just have to die.

  Oprah Winfrey

  Racism, People, Generations

  "Oprah: Racists Have to Die for Racism to End". www.newsbusters.org. November 15, 2013.

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• Children can be the most cruel creatures alive. They have the herd instinct of prejudice against any outsider, and they are merciless in its indulgence.

  Lucy Maud Montgomery

  Children, Alive, Outsiders

  Lucy Maud Montgomery (2016). “EMILY STAR - Complete Trilogy: Emily of New Moon + Emily Climbs + Emily's Quest: Classic of Children's Literature”, p.68, e-artnow

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• The material which a scientist actually has at his disposal, his laws, his experimental results, his mathematical techniques, his epistemological prejudices, his attitude towards the absurd consequences of the theories which he accepts, is indeterminate in many ways, ambiguous, and never fully separated from the historical background . This material is always contaminated by principles which he does not know and which, if known, would be extremely hard to test.

  Paul Feyerabend

  Attitude, Law, Historical

  Paul Feyerabend (1993). “Against Method”, p.51, Verso

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• The man of frank and strong prejudices, far from being a political and social menace and an obstacle in the path of progress, is often a benign character and helpful citizen. The chance is far greater, furthermore, that he will be more creative than the man who can never come to more than a few gingerly held conclusions, or who thinks that all ideas should be received with equal hospitality. There is such a thing as being so broad you are flat.

  Richard M. Weaver

  Strong, Character, Men

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• Try to imagine a man setting out for the day without a single prejudice. ... Inevitably he would be in a state of paralysis. He could not get up in the morning, or choose his necktie, or make his way to the office, ... or, to come right down to the essence of the thing, even maintain his identity.

  Richard M. Weaver

  Morning, Men, Essence

  Richard M. Weaver (1966). “Life Without Prejudice: And Other Essays”

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• Those who are guilty of the argumentum ad ignorantiam profess belief in something because its opposite cannot be proved ... In the realm where "prejudice" is now most an issue, it normally takes a form like this: you cannot prove by the method of statistics and quantitative measurement that men are not equal. Therefore all men are equal. ... You cannot prove again by the methods of science that one culture is higher than another. Therefore the culture of the Digger Indians is just a good as that of Muncie, Indiana, or thirteenth-century France.

  Richard M. Weaver

  Men, Issues, Opposites

  "Life Without Prejudice". Book by Richard M. Weaver, "Life without prejudice," p. 6, 1965.

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• For the most part we stupidly confound one man with another. The dull distinguish only races or nations, or at most classes, but the wise man, individuals.

  Henry David Thoreau

  Wise, Men, Race

  Henry David Thoreau (2012). “The Portable Thoreau”, p.110, Penguin

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• We know that passion, prejudice, party, and even good-will, tempt many who preserve a fair character with the world to deviate from truth in the laxity of conversation.

  Laurence Fishburne

  Truth, Party, Character

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• Nature never rhymes her children, nor makes two men alike. When we see a great man, we fancy a resemblance to some historical person, and predict the sequel of his character and fortune, a result which he is sure to disappoint. None will ever solve the problem of his character according to our prejudice, but only in his high unprecedented way.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Leadership, Children, Character

  Ralph Waldo Emerson (1983). “Essays and Lectures”, p.505, Library of America

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• I saw the man my friendwants pardoned, Thomas Flinton. He is a bright, good-looking fellow.... Of his innocence all are confident. The governor strikes me as a man seeking popularity, who lacks the independence and manhood to do right at the risk of losing popularity. Afraid of what will be said. He is prejudiced against the Irish and Democrats.

  Rutherford B. Hayes

  Men, Risk, Independence

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• With compassion, we see benevolently our own human condition and the condition of our fellow beings. We drop prejudice. We withhold judgment.

  Christina Baldwin

  Compassion, Judgment, Human Condition

  Christina Baldwin (1991). “Life's Companion: Journal Writing as a Spiritual Quest”, Bantam

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• It is no solution to define words as violence or prejudice as oppression, and then by cracking down on words or thoughts pretend that we are doing something about violence and oppression. No doubt it is easier to pass a speech code or hate-crimes law and proclaim the streets safer than actually to make the streets safer, but the one must never be confused with the other... Indeed, equating "verbal violence" with physical violence is a treacherous, mischievous business.

  Jonathan Rauch

  Hate, Confused, Law

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• We ought to be cautious in taking even the best ascertained opinions and practices of the primitive Church for our own. If it could be satisfactorily shown that they esteemed it authorized and transmitted forever, that does not settle the question for us. We know how inveterately they were attached to their Jewish prejudices, and how often even the influence of Christ failed to enlarge their views. On every other subject succeeding times have learned to form a judgement more in accordance with the spirit of Christianity than was the practice of the early ages.

  Ralph Waldo Emerson

  Views, Practice, Forever

  Ralph Waldo Emerson (2009). “The Essential Writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson”, p.105, Modern Library

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• ... one of the blind spots of most Negroes is their failure to realize that small overtures from whites have a large significance... I now realize that this feeling inevitably takes possession of one in the bitter struggle for equality. Indeed, I share it. Yet I wonder how we can expect total acceptance to step full grown from the womb of prejudice, with no embryo or infancy or childhood stages.

  Sarah-Patton Boyle

  Struggle, Acceptance, Blind Spots

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• Prejudice is ignorance.

  Michael Jackson

  Ignorance

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• Except for those who think in terms of pious platitudes or dogma or narrow prejudice (and those thoughts we aren't interested in), people don't speak their beliefs easily, or publicly.

  Edward R. Murrow

  Thinking, People, Belief

  "This I Believe" radio program, thisibelieve.org. 1951.

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• In no other field of scientific endeavor do otherwise intelligent people feel free to make public claims based on prejudice and ignorance. Yet in relation to psychic phenomena, committed materialists feel free to disregard the evidence and behave irrationally and unscientifically, while claiming to speak in the name of science and reason. They abuse the authority of science and bring rationalism into disrepute.

  Rupert Sheldrake

  Ignorance, Science, Intelligent

  Rupert Sheldrake (2012). “Science Set Free: 10 Paths to New Discovery”, p.257, Deepak Chopra

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• In almost every professional field, in business and in the arts and sciences, women are still treated as second-class citizens. It would be a great service to tell girls who plan to work in society to expect this subtle, uncomfortable discrimination-tell them not to be quiet, and hope it will go away, but fight it. A girl should not expect special privileges because of her sex, but neither should she "adjust" to prejudice and discrimination.

  Betty Friedan

  Girl, Art, Sex

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