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Thread: Are stereotypes bad?

  1. #1
    Member Cheer4lyfe's Avatar
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    Default Are stereotypes bad?

    We all hear about how we shouldn't stereotype certain people but if you believe in stereotypes is it really bad?

    Just an example.

    We've all heard how homeless people can be psycho but that doesn't mean they are all like that. But if you are aware that some do have mental problems and realize that stereotype then you could prepare yourself when walking by one who is asking for money.

    I was with my friend and we were walking around the city. This guy who was basically looking like a bum/druggie etc.. started asking us for money. My friend told me the minute we saw him that we should avoid him but I said I don't mind giving a couple quarters.

    Then we when approached him I gave him a couple quarters and then he tries to ask for more in a demanding way, saying I have more money help him out bla bla bla. Well, I just think that I put ourselves in a dangerous situation and if I had listened to my friends stereotype bout homeless people in that area being dangerous we could have avoided it all together.

    Just a thought. I can't sleep and was wondering what you all though. Surely there are MANY other stereotypes. I didn't want to bring race into it so hopefully we can avoid that one

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    Well, should I treat strippers like they're all sluts? Why should I not get offended when I demand one sleep with me for a small fee? That's a stereotype. Or I should ask the next stripper i see where she gets her coke?

    Or treat all blonds as pedants?

    Stereotypes are a sweeping generalization, not a rule of thumb.

  3. #3
    mermaidnz
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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    ive also given money to a homeless guy, i leanrt him name was Tasman, named after the sea.... he was a lovely guy who asked for a hug one day. then cried afterwards....it was his first hug in years.

    no,sorry, im not buying your steryotypes shit, ill judge stuff on a case by case basis.

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    God/dess Lysondra's Avatar
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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    Is it wrong to judge people before you even met them because they might actually fit the judgement you made of them even though, in reality, it's not a very large percentage chance it could've happened that way?

    Gee, I wonder.


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  5. #5
    Tauries
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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    Fark yalls ass....color..race domt make you not an a hole....you eider suck or you don't

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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    Its no surprise that stereotypes exist. The human brain makes generalizations about everything as a rule, because it makes processing all the information we take in during the day easier if we can come up with easy guidelines to fit new things to. But should we take the easy way out? No. there are always exceptions to the rule when we are talking about people.

  7. #7
    Banned gingerlee's Avatar
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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    Stereotypes=bad. Even if they turn out to be true, it doesn't make it ok to judge somebody before they even have a chance to show what kind of person they are.

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    Senior Member RandomUser's Avatar
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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    We are probably programmed to stereotype people. Watching TV and Ads. I think though every individual will break the stereotype once we talk to them. Everyone has a strength and a weakness and we don't know what it is til we interact with them.

    I was at a bus stop with some very rowdy gang members but we ended up talking and they were actually nice people. Except they told me in certain situations.

    I avoid homelss people, but one day I shared some cherries with a homeless guy at a bustop. And he turned out to be a very interesting person.

    I think its more important to determine how you will be to all people til they prove you wrong. Divide people up as honest and dishonest, reliable and unreliable, caring or cold, can trust or can't, can help them or can't.

    The last three 'money askers' I knew all had housing, nice tv's and stereo's and ate well. Their begging was strictly for a drug or alcohol habit. They had no problem "borrowing" things and saying they would pay it back if someone noticed. But usually their life problems precluded them ever getting back to the person they 'borrowed" from. Two of them worked part time, and begging was their nighttime work.

    People we categorize as mentally ill are for the most part harmless. For the most part they want to be left alone. There are people who are out there off their meds and extreme and prone to misinterpet anything you say to them. I walk a wide circle around them if I think they might be violent. As a woman you do need to be careful around these aggressive strangers. There are people of poor choices that will pick more on a person that they perceive to be weaker than themself. My best woman friend has been accosted three time in the past seven years by street low lifes. Punched once by some guy just walking out of an alley and verbally threatened the other two times when she turned down advances. Learn to make a proximity zone.

    Ahh i am rambling. I had too much Duff. Make sure it's daylight and other people are around.

  9. #9
    God/dess Bella21's Avatar
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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    Stereotypes exist for our survival. Our brain categorizes things and labels them. For example, "large animal with big teeth" = bad. Our brain doesn't only do this for animals. It's also to save it mental energy. Also, people will have different categories and labels than another person. Shoot, we even do it in the club to keep us from wasting time (even though it is not ALWAYS true).

    Is it fair? No. Should we work on paying attention to when and what we're stereotyping? Yes.

    Stereotypes =/= Prejudices (although they lead to them)
    Last edited by Bella21; 12-25-2007 at 05:32 PM.
    If you think school is hard, try being stupid.

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    God/dess Mr Hyde's Avatar
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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    Stereotypes serve useful purposes on occasion. They are not always a bad thing. If I'm in a bad neighborhood and I see a group of young people with tattoos and wearing ghetto clothes, I would assume that they might not be choirboys, and I'm not gonna ask them for directions to the nearest ATM.

    Having said that, one can't always assume everything about someone based on a stereotype.

  11. #11
    Pamela
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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    It's easy for me. I do stereotype certain people. This is probably my way of avoiding danger. Someone asks me for money, umm no go! And i am not offering up my money to a person walking the streets bumming either. We have shelters in every state to take care of homeless etc. No.

    With a trained eye, you can pick "bad" people out pretty well. And that is not a bad thing.


    PS they are not always dirty looking people, but the people well dressed and driving the expensive car as well. If it feels wrong it is wrong. It's not about looks. It's about behaviour.

  12. #12
    MsQwerty
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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    Steriotypes are useful sometimes - some people fit them nicely. I just think its probably not a good idea to judge anyone regardless though - and to give the benefit of the doubt.
    I tend to use my intuition when I come across people, it works (-:

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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    Is that a real question? Of course they suck. Do you enjoy being labelled ? I don't and I doubt Mr. Street Psycho does

  14. #14
    God/dess xdamage's Avatar
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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    Quote Originally Posted by Bella21 View Post
    Stereotypes exist for our survival. Our brain categorizes things and labels them. For example, "large animal with big teeth" = bad. Our brain doesn't only do this for animals. It's also to save it mental energy. Also, people will have different categories and labels than another person. Shoot, we even do it in the club to keep us from wasting time (even though it is not ALWAYS true).

    Is it fair? No. Should we work on paying attention to when and what we're stereotyping? Yes.

    Stereotypes =/= Prejudices (although they lead to them)
    I agree with this, and would add...

    I also think stereotypes exist for a reason. Bad or good is a judgment I won't make since like most things that exist for a reason, it can be good? or bad? depending on the specifics. My gut feeling is, much like said above, if enough humans see a pattern of behavior, they will tend to agree that the pattern exists. That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's what our brains do. Take a complex world, find patterns, store patterns, etc. so that we can make some decisions more efficiently.

    By the way, in practice people aren't necessarily offended by "stereotypes" but rather by negative stereotypes. When they are positive and work in their favor they tend not to complain too much if not even actively promote the stereotype that benefit them.

    I think intelligent people can still make well considered decisions based on individual behavior and realize that stereotypes often exist for a reason at the same time. They aren't mutually exclusive. However maybe some people aren't smart enough to cope with the idea that awareness of stereotypes does not prevent us from treating others as individuals. Poor them.

  15. #15
    Kaylinn
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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    ^ I agree with all of that, and was going to say something along the same lines.

  16. #16
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    Default Re: Are stereotypes bad?

    Stereotyping as an ultimate rule is bad, but there's some truth to certain generalizations.

    Like you know, most strange guys probably aren't rapists. But I still streotype men and try to avoid being around strange men than I would strange women. Granted, women are generally more on my physical strength level than most men. But I'd still feel more safe with a large woman around than a tiny man.

    Though statistics back me up on this, so I'm not sure that's the best example of a streotype.

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