Prejudice: recall the prefix.

Prejudice = Pre - judge

Prejudice is prejudgment, or forming an opinion before becoming aware of the relevant facts of a case. 

(Wikipedia)

          
As one gets older one often realizes not only the mistakes one has made earlier in one's youth--thus, in away, de-romanticizing youth or at least its wisdom or lack thereof, but also the meaninglessness of labels and categories that one thought were real and stable.

Young people often need to belong to a group for reasons not only related to the nature of the group.  Their sense of themselves as individuals being relatively weak is reinforced by the solidarity/unity of the many, by the others.

They want to become independent of their parents (and family). The group is a transition.  Some people stay there for life, dependent on others for reaffirmation and to make the choices that they would rather not have thrust on them.

"Everyone must be their own moral compass.  There isn't an unthinking one-size fits all."

I have discovered in the past 15 years that liberals can be just as narrow minded, mean-spirited, and rigid in their thinking--prejudiced in their own way--as those closer to the middle of the political spectrum.

Just look at Seattle, for instance...I suppose 80% of the population would describe themselves as liberals, and yet the number of aggressive drivers augments monthly.  The "bad blood" between drivers and cyclists is palpable.

The bashing of those that (some) liberals disagree is a mark of pride among the latter.

I would never have thought that liberals could be prejudiced, too!   Yes, some liberals pre judge people and situations, in a fashion that is the mirror-reverse of conservatives.  The social psychology of groups is not that different.

And some liberals are not the nicest of people, especially towards those they disagree with.  Nor do they wish to be.

That said, I consider myself a socialist (and often virulently anti-capitalist).






it [prejudice] refers to a positive or negative evaluation of another person based on their perceived group membership.
(Wikipedia)


It would be nice to have a liberal (or a conservative, for that matter) self-critique.  But maybe that is an  oxymoron.