Have you ever thought about the words racist and prejudice? Many people use them interchangeably without stopping to think if the words really have different meanings. I believe that there are many differences between the words prejudice and racist. Each word defines a different type of hatred for a people or certain group.


The word prejudice comes from the idea to pre-judge. If someone is prejudice I believe that they have hatred towards a certain group because of pre-existing stereotypes or thoughts. You can be prejudice against a certain group because for so long that group has proven to live up to their stereotype. Take for instance a white person being prejudice against a black person. Many stereotypes against black people especially black men in particular are that they are angry, violent, and aggressive. Their prejudice against black men is based on what has been broad casted and known as the "norm" for so long. Therefore people pre-judge and have hatred or dislike towards a certain group.


Being racist or racism is a term for pure hatred. There is no prejudgment or stereotyping involved in racism. Racist people display hatred on another group just because of their outside. An excellent example of racism is the Klu Klux Klan. The Klan is a racist group that displays hatred for those whose skin color is not white. There form of hatred can be classified as racism because their is no prejudgment in mind. Racism is a form of hatred that requires no thought.


So my question is do you think that racism and prejudice should be used interchangeably or are they two completely different words with separate meanings?