I came across this phrase last night:
"Prejudices, it is well known, are most difficult to eradicate from the heart whose soil has never been loosened or fertilised by education: they grow there, firm as weeds among stones."
Haven't we known that to be true? Note that the book is 165 years old but it brought to mind a recent article I read:
Intelligence Study Links Low I.Q. To Prejudice, Racism, Conservatism
I am still more inclined to think that it is a lack of education rather than IQ per se. But then it can be hard to divorce the two. People with higher native intelligence might seek more education, and education in turns fosters intelligence. Chicken or egg?
There are people whom I consort with almost daily who bare their prejudices openly and proudly. I am ashamed to say that I rarely speak out against the slurs or "jokes" though I always take them under advisement in what they say about the speaker. Their circles of friends share a common educational level and prejudices and I doubt they realize there are those who think differently.
Another quote from Jane Eyre, this one from the preface:
"Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion."
And the lack of a formal education is no excuse. Those who read and explore new ideas can self-educate.
