John Chaffee, PhD. Creating A Thinking World
with John Chaffee, Ph.D. @www.thinkingworld.com

Thinking About Discrimination
"Let him who expects one class of society to prosper in the highest degree, while the other is in distress, try whether one side of his face can smile while the other is pinched."
-Thomas Fuller

"I sit on a man's back, choking him and making him carry me, and yet assure others that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his lot by all possible means-except by getting off his back."
-Leo Tolstoy

"Half the secret of getting along with people is consideration of their views; the other half is tolerance in one's own views."
-Daniel Frohman
The key to overcoming the destructive monster of discrimination is found in clear and enlightened thinking. By thinking critically about our beliefs towards others, we can weed out irrational and unfounded discriminatory beliefs and replace them with open-minded, tolerant, and empathetic beliefs. It is the power of enlightened thinking that gives us the hope of creating a Thinking World, and it is a project that we all need to work on together, as a community, to break down misconceptions, overcome stereotypes, and create mutual understanding.

on the fence
Dealing With Discrimination
  1. Think back on a time when you were the victim of discrimination, and describe the experience in detail. What exactly took place and how did it make you feel?
  2. Adopt the perspective of the person discrimination against you. What do you imagine they were thinking? What do you imagine they were feeling?
  3. Have you ever discriminated against somebody else? If so, what were you thinking? What were you feeling?
  4. Think critically about the dynamics of discrimination. What strategies can we employ to eliminate discrimination in ourselves and others?
Write your responses to these questions in your thinking notebook, and share them with us at A Thinking World.

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