Remember this post? Well I posted over on blogcritics. I wasn't too surprised at the response I got as that it tends to be a pretty conservative site. However what really did surprise me was the fact that my criticism of something that I saw that was being presented as a stereotype is being twisted to something that is about race.
Let's get one thing straight here.
I believe that Wal-Mart is an equal opportunity whore. They're going to take money from the white community, black community, Latino community, horses, pigs, cows, space aliens, what have you. The problem is that the ads themselves feed into certain stereotypes.
Which leads me to stop rant here for a moment and perhaps give everyone a vocabulary lesson:
Taken from the Merriam Webster dictionary online (hey... it's no Oxford but it will do in a pinch)
Main Entry: 2stereotype
Function: noun
Etymology: French stéréotype, from stéré- stere- + type
Date: 1817
1 : a plate cast from a printing surface
2 : something conforming to a fixed or general pattern; especially : a standardized mental picture that is held in common by members of a group and that represents an oversimplified opinion, prejudiced attitude, or uncritical judgment
- ste·reo·typ·i·cal /"ster-E-&-'ti-pi-k&l/ also ste·reo·typ·ic /-pik/ adjective
- ste·reo·typ·i·cal·ly /-pi-k(&-)lE/ adverb
Main Entry: rac·ism
Pronunciation: 'rA-"si-z&m also -"shi-
Function: noun
Date: 1936
1 : a belief that race is the primary determinant of human traits and capacities and that racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race
2 : racial prejudice or discrimination
- rac·ist /-sist also -shist/ noun or adjective
There is a reason why I underlined that one section of the definition. See, I am not into all that PC stuff. I deal withe real world. That part that I underlined makes all the difference in the world. Now to be fair, stereotypes are not fair. Racism certainly is not fair. HOWEVER... just because one has a stereotype about someone doesn't mean that one is inferring superiority over them.
Article comments
1 - Hal Pawluk
How are you with the difference between "stereotypes" and "learning from experience"?
I've seen one being mistaken from the other in the press.
2 - Hal Pawluk
How are you with the difference between "stereotypes" and "learning from experience"?
I've seen one being mistaken for the other in the press.
3 - gyrock
"The is goes back to my screaming about how one cannot live in the past. I'm not one of those people who thinks that there should be reparations for things done in the past."
Victoria Pitt- I'll put it to you like this: Let's say someone goes out and kills your daughter. You would want some form of reparation, correct? Now let's say you have a 3 million daughters and someone goes out and kills them all. You'd still want reparation. Buy a heart.
4 - Dizzy
i think i love you! thank you so much for sharing my view on the matter i just read through an "AOL News" article about racist games but none of the material suggested was racist. Some did not even seem to fall under the category of stereotype...the sheer existence of two seperate races in a game automatically qualifies as racism
5 - dan
How can you not see how stereotypes hurt people? They typecast one group to a certain attribute, severely limiting their options and freedom to do what they want by the sheer peer pressure they face. If Indians are stereotyped to work at convenience stores, then people would express shock and take less seriously any Indians that don't want to work in one which is enough to deter them from pursuing their own career paths.
6 - gyt
Racism makes you feel upset and sad and that you and your family have been insulted. Racism is when somebody says something horrible about your colour or your religion.
So don't be a
RACIST!!!
7 - fyha
Stereotypes are as old as human culture itself. They reflect ideas that groups of people hold about others who are different from them.
A stereotype can be embedded in single word or phrase (such as, "jock" or "nerd"), an image, or a combination of words and images. The image evoked is easily recognized and understood by others who share the same views.
Stereotypes can be either positive ("black men are good at basketball") or negative ("women are bad drivers"). But most stereotypes tend to make us feel superior in some way to the person or group being stereotyped. Stereotypes ignore the uniqueness of individuals by painting all members of a group with the same brush.
Stereotypes can appear in the media because of the biases of writers, directors, producers, reporters and editors. But stereotypes can also be useful to the media because they provide a quick identity for a person or group that is easily recognized by an audience. When deadlines loom, it's sometimes faster and easier to use a stereotype to characterize a person or situation, than it is to provide a more complex explanation
8 - eje
Stereotypes are an appreciation or caricature of a culture based on commonly observed attributes. That is Italians are jovial and love tomato/pasta cuisines and red wine. Australians love the beach. Americans are opinionated. etc.
These are not necessarily incorrect and certainly not racist. These are observed generalisations of a group ON THE WHOLE. Not necessarily individuals. To apply this to individuals is not necessarily racist. To disadvantage as a result could certainly be perceived as racist.
Instead of going into details, consider this... Multiculturalism is not what is fundamentally different between cultures, but rather that fundamentally the same. Safe, unobstructed access to human rights, protection of individual interests from sovereign governments, and the ability to lawfully express free expression of ones identity in a tolerant society.
We all want our children to live healthy full lives. We all want the opportunity to thrive with an opinion that matters. We all want something better than yesterday, materialistically or philosophically. We all want to mean something.
Anything or anybody that attempts to use a stereotype to inhibit these fundamental rights is being racist IMHO.