The only legitimate reason to dislike someone is because he is a jerk.

To dislike someone for any other reason is wholly laziness on your part.

-The Book of Todd, Ch 3 stanza 3-4

A great book about the silliness of prejudice is "The Star-Bellied Sneetches" by the wonderful Dr. Seuss.

The story is about a group of little, furry, yellow creatures called "Sneetches".

Within the Sneetch community are two separate and distinct castes: Sneetches with a big star on their bellies, and the Sneetches with plain ordinary bellies.

Well, one day along comes a traveling salesman (who looks suspiciously like Allan Dulles, former head of the CIA). Said salesman has a star-belly machine and, for the price of $5.00, the poor, trod-upon plain belly Sneetches can get a star and move up in social status.

Soon, all the Sneetches look the same, and all seems as if it might be ok; perfect harmony and all that stuff...

....but alas, the original star-bellies are quite appalled by the current situation; if all Sneetches look the same, how can one Sneetch be better than another?

Not surprisingly, the salesman has a solution for that.

His star-belly machines works in reverse and soon all of the original star-bellies all have plain bellies.

Once again, the proper caste system has been established; they who once were star-bellies are now plain bellies and in charge, looking down their long Sneetch noses at the false pretender star-bellies.

Needless to say, the former plain bellies, now star bellies are quite unhappy with this state of affairs. They all rush back to the salesman, pay to get their stars removed, and soon nobody has a star on his belly.

Confused? Well, so are the Sneetches

After what seems an eternity of "Star on-Star off" shenanigans not one Sneetch can remember if he originally had a star or plain belly.

This prompts them to eventually come to the realization that they are all the same and should be judged on their own individual merits.

So, they all band together, vow to no longer be swayed by physical characteristics, and then promptly crucify the salesman in the town square for having meddled in their affairs.

Ooops. Sorry, got carried away.

In the book, the salesman lived happily ever after and rode off in his wagon, a very, very rich man.