Stereotypes exist because they tend to be true

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British people have bad teeth
Canadians are obssessed with maple syrup
The French surrender easily

All bizarrely acceptable
Meanwhile...

Americans are obese
Americans are arrogant/stupid

Bad jokes? Sure. But I don't know people who latch onto them as if they couldn't be more true than the blue sky.
 
A general problem is the conflation of what is orthodox and acceptable to say with what is believed, from personal experience, to be true or false. Something you have found from personal experience does not become false because it is not orthodox. That's not a valid standard of evaluation.

Well put. The reason for the "PCism" that we've all taken hold of subconsciously is because we're advancing as a world and not just a singular society. The idea of what is right and wrong is constantly challenged(like now for example). Because although we have done many great things as a species, there are still a lot of things to be done; and always will be. You can believe in stereotypes, stereotypes may be supported by data; yet we do not go out in public and corral specific people for expulsion from society. because the truth is that we all have our short comings and our strengths.

For the people who want to live in their perfect isolated utopia with "their people", they still have that option. Because being "PC" is about realizing that there is no evil or good; being a midget, being a giant, being frail, being strong, being blonde, being brunette, being pitch black and being pitch white and everything in between is OKAY. It does not make anyone better or worse, it simply makes us different. And being different is not a bad thing.

We do not condone genocides of certain groups, we do not condone attacks of all sorts on certain groups; because we all want the same thing. You are largely made up of in part by your environment and how you are raised. A black baby raised in in a purely academic setting from birth would do astonishingly well. A white baby raised in a purely athletic setting from birth would do astonishingly well.

The whole reason for this push is so that we can develop a society and a culture in which everyone has the same opportunity and the same resources from day 0. That is not a bad thing.
 
"white people" stereotypes? I cant think of many.
Stereotypes of Irish, Italian,French, German, or eastern european people? tons.

what? really?

they made a movie about one with the blackest guy in Hollywood
 
I'm sorry, but; holy fuck dude. JUST SAY WHAT YOU WANT TO SAY! Good lord. Nobody is going to ban you since we're all discussing the same thing. It's a stereotype, so it's "fine" in this context.


It's relevant because I was wondering what lens you were looking through.

Well, I think that if from my personal experience I find a stereotype to be true for a majority a population, then its not right for someone to label me as a racist or sexist.

I've lived in the Northeast, South Asia and am currently in Australia; and have traveled a fair bit in Europe (but that was a while ago). I like observing people and forming preliminary conclusions about them from their behavior, gestures, speech, etc.

A general problem is the conflation of what is orthodox and acceptable to say with what is believed, from personal experience, to be true or false. Something you have found from personal experience does not become false because it is not orthodox. That's not a valid standard of evaluation.

Would you mind phrasing that a little more simply please?
 
Now 'Germans' is a group 'small' enough for me to have a stereotype on, and that's the ruthless efficiency that is mentioned on a constant basis in England. Its shoehorned into sports, automobiles, even holiday planning. I've found it to be true to a small degree, although that's almost certainly because I was subconsciously looking for it on the occasions I've been.

Not heard the rude sterotype before, and from what I can tell the hirsuteness is almost entirely constrained to those over the age of 50 :P
 
I don't like the "Gingers have no souls" one.

I mean I know it's a joke.

And I know souls don't actually exist.

But it still makes me kinda sad when people keep repeating it. :(
 
Stereotypes with any form of black/white thinking is just the offspring of lazy, inconfident sheep, who need to label people in "us" and "them".
 
I don't think it's unfair to acknowledge trends.

Assuming stereotypes are true before you get to know someone and treating people differently because of them, though? That's just being a dick.


I used to work at a Subway. I don't think it was unfair to notice that a certain group tended to leave bigger messes. They frequently made no attempt to throw anything away, and instead left their trays and wrappers and everything at their table for me to clean off. It was hard not to notice this trend, especially considering they were the only group who ever did that instead of tossing it on the way out.

But I still treated them with the same respect I gave everyone when they walked in, instead of assuming they were gonna leave a mess. There were plenty of people from that group who came in and did not leave a mess. And even if there weren't, there was no rule stating that there never would be.


Stereotypes are wrong, but acting like every culture and race and religion and whatever is the same and that noticing differences between them is automatically racism is a bit naive.

Great post and a great example.

I do treat everyone the same way as well. But I also make mental notes of their race, gender, socioeconomic background, education and upbringing to predict (when I can for my own benefit) how they will react to their surroundings.
 
I don't like the "Gingers have no souls" one.

I mean I know it's a joke.

And I know souls don't actually exist.

But it still makes me kinda sad when people keep repeating it. :(

I find it hilarious. However it does tend to get boring by the 500th time you hear it from the same guy.
 
As an american Jew I can say I'm not surprised at the statistic. Personally I attribute it to cultural disparities, namely more emphasis put on education as a population than larger populations (similar to asian immigrants in this respect).

I think that's self evident. Anecdotally, Jews seem to be over represented in many well paying, high education requirement professions such as physicians. And that's actually a very old stereotype, I've read back in the middle ages, many of the feudal rulers kept Jewish doctors in their courts. They were regarded as the best.

And I can relate to what you mean about the Jewish network. Some people, when they first meet me, assume that I'm Jewish because of my last name.

For example, the first time I went to my current doctor's office, I overheard him telling someone about his vacation to Israel. His last name sounds Jewish, and he's got a slight accent and cadence to his speaking style. I assumed he was Jewish and I was right.

During our first few conversations, I could sense he wanted to know if I too was Jewish. But of course it's usually not considered polite to ask someone's religion.

Later that same year, around December, he asked me an innocuous question about my "holiday" plans or something like that. I mentioned something about Christmas, and I swear I noticed a subtle but immediate change in our conversations compared to before and after that visit. He's a friendly guy and a good doctor, but ever since then, he's acted a little differently towards me, not quite as warm since he realized I was not a Jew. I guess I disappointed him. :(
 
Are there any popular stereotypes towards polish people in the US? I know the UK generally hates them. (That's what Russell Peters told me).

Brits hate American Poles? Or do you mean the 'grr, damn Poles coming over here taking all our building work,' Daily Mail-reading, BNP-voting, shaved-head-wielding, Queen-loving, string-vest-wearing morons?

See, there's even a counter-stereotype :P
 
SE Asians and white people tend to have no asses.

of all the common traits to lose when migrating out of Africa, why that one? Did they those ancestors get kicked out of club Africa because da ass was flat? If so...
I TOTALLY UNDERSTAND.
 
Would you mind phrasing that a little more simply please?
Things that you find to be generally true (from your personal experience, or through any other method) do not become false because they are not orthodox.

You might refrain from voicing them because it would be considered impolite; but you shouldn't conflate that with "I'm wrong".
 
Brits hate American Poles? Or do you mean the 'grr, damn Poles coming over here taking all our building work,' Daily Mail-reading, BNP-voting, shaved-head-wielding, Queen-loving, string-vest-wearing morons?

See, there's even a counter-stereotype :P

That's what it sounded like. I think the best way to identify stereotypes is to listen to kids/young teenagers among themselves. When I was young "Türke" (meaning "Turk") was used as a derogatory term constantly, same with "schwul" (gay).
 
Middle age white male > child molester

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Not shocking, everyone hates black people...and we haven't even done anything. Be ashamed people of the world.

it's weird, I don't get it. I've hung out with a lot of different ethnic groups over the years, and black people are far and away more likely to be the target of racism than any other group.
 
Stereotypes exist because humans are prone to a vast array of cognitive biases, logical fallacies, and other irrational tendencies. We develop flawed models of the world, which include the unjustified generalizations we call stereotypes. Lazy thinking is the main reason they persist. Ignorance, if you like.
 
"Black people are better at running" - They tend to have a higher center of gravity, which gives an advantage in running (running is basically a sustained forward fall).

"White people are better at swimming" - They tend to have a lower center of gravity, which gives an advantage in swimming (more of the body is above the water line, creating larger waves to ride).


Two stereotypes with scientific explanations. WHERE IS YOUR GOD NOW?!?!?
 
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