Article August 30, 1969 Issue

On Handling Reverse Prejudice

RUTH ROSBOROUGH LAROCCA

A college student I know asked his parents if he could bring a friend from another country home for the Thanksgiving holidays. The parents agreed. When they arrived, the tragicomedy began, because the young man was "foreign."

The suburb in which the student lived seemed dedicated to isolating itself from the non-English-speaking, non-Anglo-Saxon world. Over the four-day weekend this pressure made itself felt in both subtle and overt ways. As a member of an orthodox church, the student was filled with feelings of resentment about the hypocrisy of certain church members and of the community, feelings that were further reinforced over the next few years.

As time passed, the student had no trouble identifying with the causes of minorities and was grateful for a lack of prejudice. It was not until the study of Christian Science was taken up three or four years after graduation that this young adult realized the intense depth of his prejudice and resentment against his own white, middle-class community. As the prejudice was uncovered, it was slowly healed.

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