A Lesson Before Dying Prejudice Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)

Quote #10

Dumb as hell, but prejudiced as hell. They had no other place to go to do their drinking—they would not dare go to any of the white clubs—so they would come here and bring their prejudiced attitude with them. (25.6)

It's kind of hard to understand why Grant uses the word "but" in that first sentence about the biracial bricklayers. Is he really surprised that someone who is "dumb as hell" would also be "prejudiced as hell"? Because prejudices are lazy—they save us time thinking through things and arriving at an informed decision.