Get the Facts

Prejudice is often based on misinformation. Consider the following examples:

• Some employers have mistakenly believed that women are unqualified for scientific or technical jobs.

• In medieval Europe, Jews were falsely accused of poisoning wells and spreading disease. During Nazi rule, Jews were again slandered. But this time they were accused of causing the economic crisis in Germany. Both cases resulted in the Jews becoming victims of extreme prejudice, some of which is still evident today.

• Many people wrongly conclude that everyone who has a disability is sad or bitter.

People who believe myths such as those may point to examples or alleged evidence that seems to confirm their bias. And they think that anyone who disagrees with them is ignorant.

“A person without knowledge is not good.”​—PROVERBS 19:2.

What does it mean? Without knowing the facts, we make bad decisions. If we believe myths rather than facts, we will misjudge people.

If we know the facts about people, we are less likely to believe common but false assumptions about them. And once we learn that we have not been told the truth about a particular group, we may be more likely to question assumptions that we have made about other groups of people.

• Remember that sweeping generalizations about groups of people do not apply to all individuals of that group.

• Acknowledge that the information you have about others may be limited.

• Try to get the facts from a reliable source.