Fear Thesaurus Entry: Discrimination

Debilitating fears are a problem for everyone, an unfortunate part of the human experience. Whether they’re a result of learned behavior as a child, are related to a mental health condition, or stem from a past wounding event, these fears influence a character’s behaviors, habits, beliefs, and personality traits. The compulsion to avoid what they fear will drive characters away from certain people, events, and situations and hold them back in life. 

In your story, this primary fear (or group of fears) will constantly challenge the goal the character is pursuing, tempting them to retreat, settle, and give up on what they want most. Because this fear must be addressed for them to achieve success, balance, and fulfillment, it plays a pivotal part in both character arc and the overall story.

This thesaurus explores the various fears that might be plaguing your character. Use it to understand and utilize fears to fully develop your characters and steer them through their story arc. Please note that this isn’t a self-diagnosis tool. Fears are common in the real world, and while we may at times share similar tendencies as characters, the entry below is for fiction writing purposes only.

Fear of Discrimination

Notes
Discrimination doesn’t have to be big or obvious to hurt; even one thoughtless word or exclusive action sting. This fear becomes a problem for characters when, in an effort to avoid discrimination at all costs, they hide or change who they are, thereby limiting themselves and living short of their full potential.

What It May Look Like
The character associating mainly with people like them (same race, gender, class, etc.)
Avoiding certain neighborhoods or places
Keeping silent when witnessing discrimination
Choosing to remain in background (at work, in social situations) to avoid drawing the wrong sort of attention
Avoiding people who are racist, bigoted, sexist, etc.
Going to great lengths to work with and surround themselves with people who are “safe” or like-minded
Choosing a job where discrimination will be minimal rather than following a dream
Changing their appearance or doing things to be accepted even if it doesn’t feel right
Avoiding “charged” events where the discriminatory factor is front and center (rallies, meetings, etc.)
Pretending to not hear a rude joke or comment to keep a situation from escalating
Becoming adept at hiding indignation, anger, and rage
Painstakingly trying to be ‘perfect’ to avoid being targeted (at work, in social circles, etc.)
Coaching their children to avoid drawing attention, speaking out, and dressing or acting a certain way that the character deems unsafe
Agreeing to do things a certain way despite it being demeaning or unjust in order to be viewed as ‘a team player’ rather than ‘a problem’
The character raising their children in a bubble, sheltering them
Hesitating to open up about the parts of their life that may invite discrimination (mental health conditions, sexual orientation, etc.)
Only being truly comfortable with the people they’re similar to
Being subservient to someone or feeding their ego to avoid being maligned by them
Putting on a face for others
Conforming to the people around them
Putting up with suggestive comments, unwanted touches, and demeaning nicknames (Honey, Babe, Boy, Gramps, etc.) to keep a situation from getting worse
Making themselves invisible when they’re with people who are different than them
Perfectionism
Rejecting the part of themselves that might be discriminated against
Distrusting the justice system and government agencies

Common Internal Struggles
Doubting people’s motives; wondering if they’re being discriminatory when they may not be
The character having prejudicial thoughts about people who have mistreated them
Feeling misunderstood 
Believing everyone is against them
Harboring anger or hatred toward another people group (police officers, the wealthy, etc.)
Feeling trapped, being unable to live life to the fullest like others can
Always being on edge, on the lookout for possible mistreatment
Wanting to speak up but being too afraid
Struggling with shame
Struggling to be optimistic and hopeful when every day they experience inequality
Fighting despair or depression (because the character believes things will never change and they won’t be able to achieve their dreams)

Flaws That May Emerge
Abrasive, Antisocial, Apathetic, Callous, Cynical, Disloyal, Hypocritical, Inhibited, Insecure, Know-It-All, Martyr, Nervous, Oversensitive, Perfectionist, Prejudiced, Resentful, Self-destructive, Timid, Uncommunicative

Hindrances and Disruptions to the Character’s Life
Struggling with low self-esteem
Not making amends with people who have mistreated them
Being filled with anger
Believing a lie about a person or group of people
Believing the lies that others propagate about the character (self-fulfilling prophecy)
Missing out on friendships with other kinds of people that could show the character love or broaden their perspective
Living a life that falls short of their full potential

Scenarios That Might Awaken This Fear
Witnessing discrimination against someone else
Returning to a place where the character experienced discrimination (a school, family, church, etc.)
Speaking out against mistreatment and not being believed
Having to interact with a political or religious group that is known to have questionable or unpopular beliefs
Encountering someone who has been discriminatory in the past
Moving to a new neighborhood, city, or school
Seeing a news story about a hate crime
Meeting a person from their own group who has differing opinions or beliefs
Being asked to become an advocate and publicly fight discrimination

Other Fear Thesaurus entries can be found here.

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