Partha Kar: Let’s not make excuses for prejudice

Yes, Partha, you belong - absolutely! As we all do. It’s shameful that bigotry and ignorance remain so prevalent in society and, in particular among our educated so-called “caring” professions. I defend the right to free speech but I agree with you - some (who are often already in positions of power) use the concept to peddle their rights to ignorant, hurtful and damaging rhetoric, while the concept was actually intended to protect the rights of everyone to stand up to those in positions of power and challenge that rhetoric without fear of recrimination or reproach. Unfortunately, racism is just the tip of the iceberg and, today, there are so many additional -isms (sexism, ageism, classism) and phobias (xenophobia, homophobia) that we continue to battle. None of us is perfect or completely free of prejudice. History and social psychology show us that we don’t overcome such innate attitudes and behaviours overnight. The way we do it is to continually challenge our own (sometimes subconscious) biases, make them visible and ourselves accountable, increase our social connections and, above all, have empathy and respect for each other.