Two personal experiences of prejudice/bias

Two personal experiences of prejudice/bias

Topic: Personal experiences of prejudice/bias Personal experience of prejudice: Being judged unfairly In my initial experiences of travelling, I was unfortunate to have acquaintances that would disappear when I insisted that I wanted to speak to them in their language. Even though there is a possibility that some of them had genuine reasons for doing this, some them that wanted to use me for their own English lessons. They therefore did not see any use for me if we communicated in their language as they would not be able to practice their English in this situation. In a majority of the countries that do not communicate in English, the locals prefer the company of individuals who are fluent in English. The locals prefer this company since it gives them a chance to learn the language as paying for lessons can be expensive. English provides for better careers in most countries and thus the people in the non-English speaking countries use every opportunity they can get to learn the language. Initially when I travelled to France and tried to speak to some people in French, they would not continue the conversation in their language as I did not know it very well. Instead, some of the people wanted us to converse in English so that they could practice it themselves.
Even though I tried to stand my ground and continue the conversations in the French, it was very rare to find people that were willing to continue with the conversation and correct me where I went wrong. This is because most of the people with whom I tried to communicate with did not appreciate the fact that I was not proficient and fluent in their language. The only way I managed to deal with this issue is convincing the few acquaintance that were patient enough with I, that we develop a routine where we would speak English for some time then switch to French so that we could all benefit.
Personal experience of prejudice: Judging others unfairly
Most of the stereotypes that are developed are founded on some elements of truth (Blakemore, Berenbaum & Liben, 2009). Even though this is the case, it still does not make them through as it means that certain characteristic inspired an individual to make a general conclusion about a certain situation. I had personally developed a stereotype that women are poor drivers especially when compared to men. I developed this stereotype without considering that mothers are the ones that usually drive children to school and other functions that involve the family. They usually do this in good time and arrive at their destinations in one piece.
I have eventually appreciated that women are more sensitive and practical on the road than men and they drive with more care and caution. It is no wonder that some insurance companies offer them premiums that are lower as they have a lower possibility of causing accidents. The women actually rarely speed or try to mark territories on the road by being bullies. Women take their time when reversing and parking while making sure that they signal when they are about to make a turn. Even though this calculated action by women drivers may seem to be annoying at times, they are never life threatening as they actually avoid many accidents. Even though the women have always proven to be good drivers, the stereotype that they are not good on the road has stuck in a lot of minds, including mine, regardless of the lack of supporting evidence.
References
Blakemore, J., Berenbaum, S., & Liben, L. (2009). Gender development (1st ed.). New York:
Psychology Press.