Question

When Shelly, a white American, sees a Middle Eastern man, she worries that he may be a terrorist. She would never say this and would never take action on these thoughts, but nonetheless, they come into her mind. Despite her commitment to fair treatment, she is harboring:

a. symbolic ethnicity.
b. internal discrimination.
c. modern racism.
d. prejudice.

Answer 1

Shelley is harboring Option D, prejudice against people of Middle Eastern origin.

Explanation:

To have prejudice against someone means you have preconceived ideas and a bias that leads you to make judgments on their character or nature, whether you know them or not. Often people harbor prejudice based on ethnic or racial origins of the other party and our modern society does not yet do enough sensibilization work to help people overcome their prejudices. Cultural diversity training is an area that can help to increase tolerance of cultural differences and respect for different cultural viewpoints.