Stop prejudice through education

I have learnt about prejudice before and I think that it is completely wrong. I am very hurt when people are prejudiced against me. I am very shocked to discover that only certain types of prejudice such as racism and sexism are illegal.

It is now time that everyone understood and recognised that there is good and bad in everything and that there is a difference between what people CAN do and what they WILL do. I am always very nervous of prejudice and no one deserves to be afraid of being harassed because of who or what they are. I know some people who are prejudiced against pit bull type dogs because they have had bad previous experiences with them. Even this I cannot understand. They should be better educated to know that there is good and bad in everything.

I have heard of others who have bad experiences with Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs, and still hold nothing against them. Any dog of any breed can be trained to be nice, whatever their nature or original purpose. I once knew a border collie who wouldn't have known a sheep from a cow because she had never been trained to herd animals. Every day, I fear prejudice and I get even more strongly against it. I cannot understand nor tolerate ANY prejudice whatsoever. Children and young people should be better educated so that they grow up tolerating all religions, races, nationalities and types of people, as well as dog breeds. A better way of dealing with dog attacks on children would be to make socialization classes mandatory for all dog owners. This would also create more jobs as not everyone would be able to afford these classes so the government would have to set up their own classes and pay the people who own the places and those who run the classes. This would not be that hard to enforce because if enough signs and posters were placed regarding the importance of dog socialization the general public would report those who did not take their dogs.

Another idea would be to make it mandatory that children in primary schools are taught how to approach dogs properly. They should always ask the owner before touching a strange dog/s, and even if they let them stroke their dog/s, they should always put their hand out for the dog to sniff first. Never stare into a dog's eyes as this is a sign of aggression. Some dogs do not like to be petted on the head so unless you know the animal well you should never touch its head as it can appear to be frightening to the dog. If a dog chases you or growls at you, you should not run or scream because then he'll be more likely to chase you. The best thing to do is to just ignore him and, if possible, crouch down to show that you are not a threat.

Back onto the topic, how would YOU like it if people were hateful against your religion? Whoever said "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me" was talking out of his or her armpit. Words can and do hurt people. Black people do get offended when they are called "n*****" and foreigners do get offended when they are called "p****". Despite rumours and myths, most prisoners are not gypsies or travellers. Some of them are bad, some of them are good. Some of them steal, some don't. Some drop litter, some don't. No one should be judged by anything other than their own personal character.

Prejudice can be stopped, or at least reduced, by education!