Stereotypes Are Forever
I grew up in Alabama, the "Heart of Dixie" to most life-long residents, where the heart of racism in the U.S. was thought to reside. I lived through the busing of whites and blacks across town in an effort to integrate the schools, and experienced hatred and anger first-hand when a group of bused-in blacks attempted to "gang-jump" me when I decided to take a short-cut between portable buildings on my way to class one day. Luckily, a teacher walked by at the most opportune moment to interrupt the inevitable ass-whipping that comes with a six-against-one disadvantage. I remember going home so angry that day, and walking in our house yelling about the "damn n - - - ers", only to come face-to-face with our maid, who was an older black lady that I truly loved and respected (By the way, no, we weren't rich. My dad always ensured that my mom had help from a maid several days a week and worked hard at his job as a drug store manager to provide that to her). I quickly and sheepishly apologized to her, and when I explained to her and my Mom what had happened, she told me not to worry, that I was right to call them "n - - - ers". Interestingly, it was a word that I actually rarely used as a kid, and that has always made me uncomfortable to say or hear, even as a child growing up in those times. The whole situation was both confusing and frustrating for me as a child, because the black peers that I had grown up with, both as classmates throughout elementary school and as playmates from a small black neighborhood adjacent to my own, were my friends and we always got along. Of course, being that young and being primarily exposed to the white side of things, I simply didn't understand what the bused-in students were so angry about, and why we couldn't get along like I did with my lifelong black peers.
You would think that growing up in the environment I did, at that particular time in history, I would be a racist and a bigot as an adult. But I was never a racist as a child, and as an adult, I am actually a very racially neutral person. I do, however, have some strong feelings and thoughts about race relations and individual rights. For instance, while I backed affirmative action when it was first initiated in order to "right the ship" or "level the playing field", I believe we have come far enough at this time to end some of those policies. I believe strongly in equal rights, but not special rights.
You would think that growing up in the environment I did, at that particular time in history, I would be a racist and a bigot as an adult. But I was never a racist as a child, and as an adult, I am actually a very racially neutral person. I do, however, have some strong feelings and thoughts about race relations and individual rights. For instance, while I backed affirmative action when it was first initiated in order to "right the ship" or "level the playing field", I believe we have come far enough at this time to end some of those policies. I believe strongly in equal rights, but not special rights.
I also think that bigotry, or prejudice, at its heart, is based upon stereotypes. Unfortunately, no matter how much we run public campaigns to eliminate stereotypes, they are likely to exist as long as the human race survives. The human mind seems hard-wired to “classify”, or group the things in our environment based upon perceived characteristics that those in a group are believed to uniquely or predominately share. Whether its food (“healthy” versus “unhealthy”), cars (“practical” versus “sporty” or “extravagant”) or politicians (“conservative” versus “liberal”), we find it impossible not to group things based on what we believe we know about them. And it is only natural that this inclination to sort and classify things affects how we view the other people that we share this planet with. Only with classifying people, there are a lot of strong emotions attached to it, the characteristics we attribute seem to be negative more often than not, and we call it “stereotyping”.
Unfortunately, stereotypes are perpetuated by the fact that there is always some grain of original truth to a perceived group characteristic. Typically, one or more events (or actions/behaviors by one or more persons) somewhere in the history of a particular race, religious group, culture, etc., initially plants the seed of a perceived characteristic, whether deserved or not. Thereafter, if it is initially attributed as a characteristic of that group, any similar event or behavior by any person who is part of that group is perceived by others as providing supportive evidence that the characteristic is accurate to the entire group. It doesn’t matter that the behavior or characteristic is actually demonstrated by only a small fraction of people from that group, or that it is equally demonstrated by an equal or greater proportion of people outside that group, or that it may not have even been first demonstrated by a member of that group. It is nonetheless automatically “highlighted” in our eyes when it is observed in a member of the stereotyped group and is generalized to most or all members. When the same behavior is demonstrated by a member of our own group, or a group that we don’t harbor a negative attitude toward, it is perceived as an "anomaly" that only calls into question the character of that one person rather than being an example of the character of their entire group. For instance, I heard a prominent African-American, in discussing race relations, refer to the stereotype held by many non-blacks that African-American males are "hyper-sexual". While this may not be accurate across the board for all African-American males, the fact that a portion of young African-American males are often observed grabbing their junk in public while making off-color sexually-oriented comments to a passing female only serves to strengthen the stereotype. It is equally strengthened when a prominent African-American makes the news for cheating on his wife, while the same stereotype is not applied to whites when a prominent Caucasian (i.e. Bill Clinton) gets caught doing the same thing. By the same token, the stereotype that all whites from the south are redneck bigots holding on to their Confederate history, is strengthened by the relatively small portion of uneducated trailer dwellers that display confederate flags on their body, cars, clothes and wherever else they can.
Unfortunately, stereotypes are perpetuated by the fact that there is always some grain of original truth to a perceived group characteristic. Typically, one or more events (or actions/behaviors by one or more persons) somewhere in the history of a particular race, religious group, culture, etc., initially plants the seed of a perceived characteristic, whether deserved or not. Thereafter, if it is initially attributed as a characteristic of that group, any similar event or behavior by any person who is part of that group is perceived by others as providing supportive evidence that the characteristic is accurate to the entire group. It doesn’t matter that the behavior or characteristic is actually demonstrated by only a small fraction of people from that group, or that it is equally demonstrated by an equal or greater proportion of people outside that group, or that it may not have even been first demonstrated by a member of that group. It is nonetheless automatically “highlighted” in our eyes when it is observed in a member of the stereotyped group and is generalized to most or all members. When the same behavior is demonstrated by a member of our own group, or a group that we don’t harbor a negative attitude toward, it is perceived as an "anomaly" that only calls into question the character of that one person rather than being an example of the character of their entire group. For instance, I heard a prominent African-American, in discussing race relations, refer to the stereotype held by many non-blacks that African-American males are "hyper-sexual". While this may not be accurate across the board for all African-American males, the fact that a portion of young African-American males are often observed grabbing their junk in public while making off-color sexually-oriented comments to a passing female only serves to strengthen the stereotype. It is equally strengthened when a prominent African-American makes the news for cheating on his wife, while the same stereotype is not applied to whites when a prominent Caucasian (i.e. Bill Clinton) gets caught doing the same thing. By the same token, the stereotype that all whites from the south are redneck bigots holding on to their Confederate history, is strengthened by the relatively small portion of uneducated trailer dwellers that display confederate flags on their body, cars, clothes and wherever else they can.
This is not to say that there aren't characteristics that are truly unique to one race or religious group, or a limited number of similar groups. Some stereotyped characteristics are in fact entirely accurate and justified, whether positive or negative. Of course, stereotyped characteristics, as with beauty, are in the eyes of the beholder.
So, can we ever overcome the destructive effects of our natural tendency to form stereotypes? Maybe, but I don’t know that trying to actually eliminate stereotyping is the answer, as it seems we are battling what I believe is hard-wired, instinctive human behavior. Even if one believes they achieve a point where they no longer stereotype others, they are most likely just consciously suppressing the stereotypes that actually still exist in their mind.
I believe the answer to reaching a world without significant racial conflict is two-fold. First, we do have to be fully aware of, and recognize our own stereotyping of others for what it is, and make a conscious effort to mediate our response to these stereotypes. In other words, when we see an example of something and we find ourselves thinking “Oh, that’s because he’s a [enter group here]”, we need to catch ourselves and ask, “Can I really say that only people in that group do that”? We also need to ask ourselves “Is that actually unacceptable or bad, or is it just different from what I choose to do”? We as members of our own group also need to be aware of the negative stereotypes that others harbor about us, that make us angry, and ask ourselves if we in fact do things to actually feed or perpetuate the stereotype, especially if it is perceived as a socially offensive or questionable behavior. After all, if others perceive that members of our group characteristically engage in some socially unacceptable or offensive behavior, we cannot justify being angry about it if we in fact contribute to the stereotype through our own behavior.
The second part of the solution is civility. One of the most powerful things you can do to improve relations with someone of another race, religion, etc., is do demonstrate simple civility and common courtesy. Doing the simple little things, such as holding the door open for each other, smiling and greeting strangers, and giving them the same respect that you give someone of your own race/religion. And the good thing is, I believe this is a transformation in race relations that has already begun. In fact, I've observed some amazing progress over my 50+ years, to include not just the increase in civil behavior among both whites and blacks toward each other, but also a significant increase in racially mixed relationships, both intimate and platonic. I see many more examples of racially mixed friendships, social groups, marriages, business partnerships, etc., than ever before.
But we have a long way to go. And I believe that it's the younger generations that will make the ultimate difference in race relations. They are, after all, the ones who have already demonstrated the most progress toward blending races socially, and who harbor fewer stereotypes about other races and religions than their parents and grandparents. I think there is, in fact, a naturally-occurring transformation that began with the bringing of slaves to America, the hardships endured by blacks and imposed upon them by whites during the first few hundred years of our country's history, followed by the establishment of equal rights for everyone, the struggle of the civil rights era, and the beginning of the leveling off period that I believe we are in now. While the playing field in areas like education and employment is still not level, it is much closer than ever before, and is close enough to allow both sides to begin to move beyond the hostility of the past and into civility. The move into civility can only help in bringing about the continuing leveling of the field, and eventual complete normalization of race relations. But even if we someday reach that point, we will still have to battle the effects of stereotypes, because it's in our nature, and stereotypes are forever.
The second part of the solution is civility. One of the most powerful things you can do to improve relations with someone of another race, religion, etc., is do demonstrate simple civility and common courtesy. Doing the simple little things, such as holding the door open for each other, smiling and greeting strangers, and giving them the same respect that you give someone of your own race/religion. And the good thing is, I believe this is a transformation in race relations that has already begun. In fact, I've observed some amazing progress over my 50+ years, to include not just the increase in civil behavior among both whites and blacks toward each other, but also a significant increase in racially mixed relationships, both intimate and platonic. I see many more examples of racially mixed friendships, social groups, marriages, business partnerships, etc., than ever before.
But we have a long way to go. And I believe that it's the younger generations that will make the ultimate difference in race relations. They are, after all, the ones who have already demonstrated the most progress toward blending races socially, and who harbor fewer stereotypes about other races and religions than their parents and grandparents. I think there is, in fact, a naturally-occurring transformation that began with the bringing of slaves to America, the hardships endured by blacks and imposed upon them by whites during the first few hundred years of our country's history, followed by the establishment of equal rights for everyone, the struggle of the civil rights era, and the beginning of the leveling off period that I believe we are in now. While the playing field in areas like education and employment is still not level, it is much closer than ever before, and is close enough to allow both sides to begin to move beyond the hostility of the past and into civility. The move into civility can only help in bringing about the continuing leveling of the field, and eventual complete normalization of race relations. But even if we someday reach that point, we will still have to battle the effects of stereotypes, because it's in our nature, and stereotypes are forever.
