Prejudice

Opening hook from novel I'm writing.

There was a delay after he asked the question, followed by an awkward silence. Leo didn't wait for an answer, instead he illuminated the question with a series of presumptive statements...

“He's a cop, so he must be honest; he's black, so he must be athletic; she's a saint, so she must be as perfect as a person can be.”

Leo shook his head.

“And I'm homeless, so what does that make me?”

It's a universal practice to stereotype, and I think it's fair to say that were taught this from birth. As a homeless veteran, who was once revered as a hero, he took quite a demotion in life.

He repeated the original question.

“So how can we combat prejudice, when it's justified around us every single day?

Reviews

[TLK]

"It's a universal practice to stereotype, and I think it's fair to say that were taught this from birth. As a homeless veteran, who was once revered as a hero, he took quite a demotion in life." I found this to be a rather heavy use of exposition. I feel you could easily lead a sympathetic reader to this just by showing us Leo and his internal dialogue.

[Maya]

Thanks, I see what you mean...