SENTINEL WATCH April 19, 2010 Issue

LOVING THE 'OUTSIDER': GETTING BEYOND PREJUDICE

ANTHONY WHITEHOUSE

SINCE THE TRIAL OF RADOVAN KARADZIC, the Bosnian Serb leader, began at the International Criminal Court of Justice in The Hague, the accused war criminal has steadfastly denied responsibility for crimes against humanity, including the murder of some 8,000 Muslim men and boys in Srebrenica in July 1995. He rejected as fabrications evidence of attempted genocide and ethnic cleansing against Bosnian Muslims.

What's disturbing and requires our prayer is that such acts don't belong to the past. In Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Palestine—to mention just a few countries—different sections of the populations still are divided by race, religion, and culture. Whole swaths of a community never seem to question the prejudices or attitudes they are weaned on. In their eyes, it's all right to despise or resent "outsiders" because they are different.

Some even appear to enjoy their prejudices because these views give them a sense of superiority over a particular class or race. This can be an explosive mix when those feelings lead to violent acts that are justified by further dehumanizing the ones who are attacked. While such actions may give their perpetrators satisfaction, what's really at work might be described as the satanic elements of ignorance, pride, and prejudice.

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