Prejudice is something we have all perhaps been guilty of at one time or another, yet it is obviously flawed. So often we are surprised by an action which completely undermines our predetermined ideas of someone, or something, as this recent story from an English local paper demonstrates.
A lady discovered a fox in the chicken coop of a school’s farmyard and naturally presumed the worst, but her fear was misguided. The fox had simply settled on the eggs and was keeping them warm – it even hung around for some photos – and the hens were blissfully unaware!
It is not often you get the opportunity to liken the peacebuilding process to a relationship between a fox and some chickens, but then again this was a remarkable fox. Perhaps if we all made a conscious effort to ignore our preconceptions and be more optimistic, the road to peace would be smoother. After all, that perceived foe could turn out to be friendlier than you anticipated.
