Stereotypes.

[TheMixedHerb]

(I searched for a thread like this and only found an archived one, so i'm making a new one.)

Okay, admit it.
I know that every single person reading this now has looked at or treated something differently because of something about their person which is different from the norm, no?

What I want to know is, why?

Why do we think that? Are we afraid of it, curious, or just generally don't know how to react?

I will admit I have done it personally, or rather. I used to, I saw people differently abled to myself as weird and or strange, but why?

People nowadays tend to be far too focused on their outgoing image. Which isn't a bad thing, of course it isn't. Yet most people seem to forget what (I feel) is more important, the person who you are inside.

Not what you look like, how you dress or how you speak.
How you think, how you react, how you handle different situations, are you an introvert, an extrovert, maybe you're a little vain, maybe you're not. Anything really, it all comes down to the simple fact that you are you.

Everybody is different too, we can't change that, why would we want everybody to be different? It'd be boring, many variations of characters come from many different places. This we know, but why do people act on it if something's just out of that comfort zone of 'different'?

I personally think that it's because most people don't know how to react in situations when they come across a person like that. If a human sees something they don't recognise they lash out, it's instinct.

Then I ask you, what right do we have to do that to somebody who's different to us? In any way, I don't mean just physically, it could be a mental thing too. Perhaps someone of ill mental health.

The way I see it is though, if you were in their position - what would you do?
Think about it, if you were the one being discriminated against due to someone judging you that very instant you met based on a stereotype. How would it make you feel?

Personally i've seen it myself, it's happened to me, i'm quite small for my age so people tend to comment on that a lot. I'm small, don't think I notice that? This brings me back to my earlier point; what right do they have to say such things?

These people (generally) don't know you, they probably will never will, especially if they behave like that. Yet within that few seconds of meeting them they've made a judgemental view of you based on something that is actually something that a) has nothing to do with them and b) is not actually something that is bad as they originally may think.

Why do people also instantly view it as a bad thing, also?
Another thing i've never understood, why is it instantly registered in your mind as a bad thing?

Is it because we don't understand it or because we don't want to understand it? One of the worst things you can do is automatically create a barrier with someone, why would you want to do that?

I think as people mature they start to realise that it's easy to look past stereotypes and see people for who they really are. Looking at people from a stereotypical point of view is not a good thing in my opinion.

What are your views on stereotypes, have you ever viewed someone in a stereotypical way upon first glace? Do you still? Ever had it happen to you or just want to post your input?

I've always found this topic fascinating, interested in reading the input.

 

[Valvalis]

I think really it's an issue of everyone being conditioned by the society they're born into There are plenty of ideas out there that most people even now consider to be staples, and yet these things could just as easily not be "the norm." Something as simple and ingrained as having a child and raising a family could be considered a stereotype by someone like me who has no desire to do that. However, most people are conditioned from childhood to believe that this is a natural process that everyone on earth is supposed to go through. Eating meat is another one in many cultures--like many people (in the U.S., anyway) I grew up in a very carnivorous household, and I adhered to it for many years because I had never been exposed to anything different; the few vegetarians I knew were always made fun of as "treehugging activists who didn't know how to get good nutrition." And the same goes for things like fashion--a great deal of people out there adhere to all different fashion styles, whatever they may be, because most of the people around them do, and they are exposed to such habits through the media. If the majority of people partake in something, in our collective consciousness as humans it becomes "the norm," and anything that fails to cohere with it is considered unfriendly. And my best guess on why it's automatically unfriendly for many people is that it causes us to reevaluate ourselves, which can often be unsettling or a nuisance; if we think even for one second that we're not doing something right, or that there might be a better way, it can cause our whole worldview to collapse, along with everything in our lives that we've established for ourselves--unless we can find some way to deal with it. And for many people, dealing with it equates to ridiculing it, wearing it down until it sounds so ridiculous and poor that it no longer threatens our established way of life. In the case of people who are disabled, one might argue that that's not a better way of life; however, in cases like this where the "unusual" person is worse off than you, I think the answer is more that many people would tend to feel guilty about complaining about things when they meet someone who has to deal with those same issues and bad health etc. on top of it, and so to stay comfortable many people try to avoid encounters with such people. I don't think most mature people would make fun of such people really, but sadly there are also plenty of immature people out there who do such things just to be mean. However, bullying also stems from personal insecurities in a lot of places as well, so it all ties back to my main point here of people trying to forever maintain their homeostasis.

As far as me personally, I'm very tall for a girl, 5'11, and I've noticed a lot of people seem to think that's unusual and sometimes unattractive. I've noticed in a lot of places on this forum actually that people have referred to 5'7 as "very tall" for a girl, and that's been making me kind of uncomfortable actually So I get where you're coming from with people making size-related comments.

 

[Gaige]

I haven't really found myself the center of any stereotypes, being quite average physically. I noticed that short people (boys in particular) in my school got stereotyped as having higher pitched voices, while taller people have been stereotyped as having lower voices. It's not a huge stereotype, but it exists.

Another stereotype I noticed when an American girl transferred into our school, a lot of people expected her to be arrogant and selfish, and when she wasn't, it came as a shock to a lot of people, myself included, if I'm being honest.

I know of the Irish stereotype too, portraying us as drunken, rage prone idiots with two dimensional minds. I don't dwell on it much, but it's another unfortunate, and rather negative stereotype of people that couldn't be more different in real life.

I do believe that dispelling stereotypes is necessary for us to mature. If we're forever gonna think of the Germans as dangerous Nazis, how can we be culturally informed, you know? We need to develop our own, unbiased, open opinions, and not take the easy road and believe in stereotypes.

 

[GalaxyFlare]

Who says its automatically registered as a bad thing?

Some stereotypes are good, like African/American people being good at basketball, or saying asian people are good at maths, there is nothing inherently wrong with saying those things...........its just people dont like being "categorized".

The fact that we do use stereotypes is not a bad thing, its just a way we as individuals process information, for example lets take a group or minority, if you only hear bad things
about there culture there stereotypical behaviour is you have to go on.

It is also easier to view larger groups this way, take you "bloody yanks" there is a stereotypical view general population slanderous offense about an entire country, it has both positive and negative connotations, anyway my point is out side of the US americans are generally viewed as being overbearing loud mouthed people........not really a good thing you would say I know this is not the case though,as most americans are Hard word working people who care for there families and try there best to help other help other people and countries during times of crisis, and for this I generally view US citizens with respect.

But not every body knows these aspects or does not care to learn about them and a generally negative view is formed because its easier.......why I dont know>? it could be human nature,or it could be what I said above if all you hear about people re negative things that is all you will come to understand about them.

Im going to rattle on bit here...........

Not all Stereotypes are negative, some are playful others are true, some are just inuendo. A stereotypical way of viewing stereotypes is to understand that each one is veiwed differentley by each individual, if you dont like the veiw it establishes of a group/race/county its up to you as an individual to learn more about those entities.

One of my favorite Stereotypes is that I dont initially like people from New South Wales, but everywhere else in australia I have no problem.......Im biased against them thats all
ever since the syndey olympics they think there so much better, with there opera house and there bridge!.........pretentious douchebags all 4 million of them.

See its unnecessary........they're just people

Is it so hard to view people on a group or individual basis with out preconceived ideas?

Yes it is, there are 2 contributing factors Ignorance and prejudice, stereotypes can for many ways as well 2nd or 3rd hand information, personal experience, racial, regional, they are jus a tool to make dealing with thing we dont really care about easier.

Its much easier to say such and such is this way if you dont care, I dont think its right but people have the right to think how they want.........for better or worse.

GamingWay tall chicks are viewed by men anyway as being wired and out of place because the average hight of a male is 3' shorter than you are lol, some guys feel inadequate around tall women, but being tall is not just for men, Im 6'4 If girls are taller than me ,Which they are, they are taller than most men on the planet.You should be unfazed about what other people think........you are tall be proud of it.

 

[Rasputin]

We already know why people do it. It's because it's instinctively more efficient to separate people in to groups and make assumptions than the alternative. Evolution plays a role in this, making it an innate part of human nature. There's nothing particularly profound about stereotypes, it's simply a matter of acknowledging they are there and learning how to deal with them when they cause social conflict.

Also, I don't know why you have to put every single sentence in a new paragraph, it's really hard to read your post like that.

 

[Davey Gaga]

I think stereotyping and judging those who deviate from the social norm are slightly different, but I'll address your post rather than the title of the thread.

We do it because it's how we are. Humans are social beings and we tend to group together with those of similar views. When someone in the group shuns our view we exclude them from the group.

This doesn't necessarily stop at groups of friends. Take the legal system for example...most of us find murder wrong, so it has been written in to our law that murder is wrong and punishable. When someone murders, what do we do? We shun them from our group --our society-- because they have violated the principles of our group.

Most of us dress to blend in with the majority. When you walk down the street and see those in jeans and tshirts you don't bat an eye, but a leather-coated, big-booted, face-pierced individual makes you think wtf? It's because it isn't what is accepted as the majority view thus the majority shuns them.

It's not necessarily the nicest thing in the world but it's been around ever since we have. We'll probably stamp it out eventually but it'll take a while.

 

[TheMixedHerb]

the few vegetarians I knew were always made fun of as "treehugging activists who didn't know how to get good nutrition." And the same goes for things like fashion--a great deal of people out there adhere to all different fashion styles, whatever they may be, because most of the people around them do, and they are exposed to such habits through the media.

I think you raise a good point here, the media tends to play a rather large role in how people think about certain things, they've generally tried to slip things in like that more and more now though.

I do believe that dispelling stereotypes is necessary for us to mature. If we're forever gonna think of the Germans as dangerous Nazis, how can we be culturally informed, you know? We need to develop our own, unbiased, open opinions, and not take the easy road and believe in stereotypes.

When I was younger I used to think that they were all horrible people.
All because of what a few people did so many years ago now, when you think about it that way you realise that you don't actually know them at all.

Who says its automatically registered as a bad thing?

Some stereotypes are good, like African/American people being good at basketball, or saying asian people are good at maths, there is nothing inherently wrong with saying those things...........its just people dont like being "categorized".

I was speaking in general really, from personal experience i've found most stereotypes to be rather bad or offensive, but I do see your point here.
We shouldn't be categorised though, should we?
We're all different in different ways, why should that seperate us into groups?

We already know why people do it. It's because it's instinctively more efficient to separate people in to groups and make assumptions than the alternative. Evolution plays a role in this, making it an innate part of human nature. There's nothing particularly profound about stereotypes, it's simply a matter of acknowledging they are there and learning how to deal with them when they cause social conflict.

Also, I don't know why you have to put every single sentence in a new paragraph, it's really hard to read your post like that.

People tend not to know how to deal with them though, which sometimes can lead to a dislike since they think they shouldn't be put in that situation.

If you don't like how my post is set out, you wasn't forced to read it. The reason it's like that is because I typed it elsewhere and copied it over because I was having problems with firefox at the time, but that's hardly a major issue now is it?

Most of us dress to blend in with the majority. When you walk down the street and see those in jeans and tshirts you don't bat an eye, but a leather-coated, big-booted, face-pierced individual makes you think wtf? It's because it isn't what is accepted as the majority view thus the majority shuns them.

It's not necessarily the nicest thing in the world but it's been around ever since we have. We'll probably stamp it out eventually but it'll take a while.

I agree i've seen that happen a few times in person and they really do stand out. At the end of the day though it's their choice, it's got nothing to do with us really.

It's not really a nice thing no, it's a shame really. I honestly can't see it stopping though.

 

[GBJoker]

Why do we think that? Are we afraid of it, curious, or just generally don't know how to react?

I think what ever I think, because it has been proven time and time again. In my early teen years, I had negative stereotypes against absolutely every one. Then I got it through my thick skull to educate myself as much as possible. And most of the thoughts went away. Recently, they have come back, only because I swear, I spent my entire teen life meeting people who defied stereotypes and went against them in any way possible, only to, in my adult life, meet FAR more people who absolutely define the stereotypes.

Then I ask you, what right do we have to do that to somebody who's different to us? In any way, I don't mean just physically, it could be a mental thing too. Perhaps someone of ill mental health.

On the other hand, I'm forced to ask, is it okay to take away the liberty to think what ever you want about some one? I certainly would never. I believe very strongly that we human beings have every right in the world to think what ever we wish of another human being, so long as the thought does not turn into action that harms another person. Now, I admit, there's a very thin line (SOMETIMES, not always) between thinking something, and doing something, but really, I'm very willing to bet that many will agree with me when I say; only the strongest people keep the line there, and never blur it.

The way I see it is though, if you were in their position - what would you do?
Think about it, if you were the one being discriminated against due to someone judging you that very instant you met based on a stereotype. How would it make you feel?

I'd stop supplying the fuel for the stereotype. Depending on what it is. Obviously, some of aim for certain stereotypes. For example, most straight guys would never cry in public (Except deaths of people, but that is ALWAYS excusable), and therefore, attempt to maintain a "Tough Dude" stereotype.

Personally i've seen it myself, it's happened to me, i'm quite small for my age so people tend to comment on that a lot. I'm small, don't think I notice that? This brings me back to my earlier point; what right do they have to say such things?

Same as I said above. I'd never take away the right to think as one wishes to think.

Why do people also instantly view it as a bad thing, also?

Because most stereotypes ARE bad. At that point in time. Take the "nerd." In high school, the nerd is never going to amount to anything for that entire four-ish years (depending on where you are). Therefore, it is "bad" to be a nerd. Obviously, what most high schoolers don't understand, and those who are past high school see extremely clearly is, doesn't matter if you were a nerd in high school; all that matters is what you do AFTER high school.

Another thing i've never understood, why is it instantly registered in your mind as a bad thing?

Because most of them tend to be bad. Rarely are there "good" stereotypes. Using the example above; Bill Gates was a stereotypical "nerd" after high school and for, essentially, the rest of his life. Look where it got him. He was able to manipulate business agreements so fluidly, that the public now gives him full credit for the creation of Microsoft. That takes skill. Nerd level skill. Now look at the "bad" stereotypes... Oh, yeah... There's thousands, easily.

Is it because we don't understand it or because we don't want to understand it? One of the worst things you can do is automatically create a barrier with someone, why would you want to do that?

I understand the thoughts in my head very clearly. Others may not. And quite frankly, some times there are people that I want a very well defined barrier between me and them.

I think as people mature they start to realise that it's easy to look past stereotypes and see people for who they really are. Looking at people from a stereotypical point of view is not a good thing in my opinion.

Easy to say, etc. Besides, when some people go out of their way to define a stereotype, do we really need to look any further than the specific stereotype they chose?

What are your views on stereotypes, have you ever viewed someone in a stereotypical way upon first glace? Do you still? Ever had it happen to you or just want to post your input?

I always view people stereotypically on first glance. It's quick, easy, and downright fun. And, I've always had people look at me stereotypically. Especially right after they find out I'm hearing impaired. They immediately think I'm mentally disabled and couldn't possibly compare to them. But, as I said, I cannot, and will not stop them from thinking that.

 

[TheMixedHerb]

On the other hand, I'm forced to ask, is it okay to take away the liberty to think what ever you want about some one? I certainly would never. I believe very strongly that we human beings have every right in the world to think what ever we wish of another human being, so long as the thought does not turn into action that harms another person. Now, I admit, there's a very thin line (SOMETIMES, not always) between thinking something, and doing something, but really, I'm very willing to bet that many will agree with me when I say; only the strongest people keep the line there, and never blur it.

I never thought of that, good point. We have the right to think what we want to think about people, granted. I was just wondering why we did it, most people tend to act on it, if you don't act on it it's not actually so bad I guess.

Because most of them tend to be bad. Rarely are there "good" stereotypes. Using the example above; Bill Gates was a stereotypical "nerd" after high school and for, essentially, the rest of his life. Look where it got him. He was able to manipulate business agreements so fluidly, that the public now gives him full credit for the creation of Microsoft. That takes skill. Nerd level skill. Now look at the "bad" stereotypes... Oh, yeah... There's thousands, easily.

Good point, but look where he is now, I honestly don't think he'd really have a care in the world if anyone outright said anything nasty on that level to him. He has a right to (mostly) really, i'd say. I think going back to those people who ever did say nasty things and saying "look where I am now" would've been very satisfying, not that i'm saying he did that. Still...

I always view people stereotypically on first glance. It's quick, easy, and downright fun. And, I've always had people look at me stereotypically. Especially right after they find out I'm hearing impaired. They immediately think I'm mentally disabled and couldn't possibly compare to them. But, as I said, I cannot, and will not stop them from thinking that.

I admit I tend to still view people rather stereotypically at first glance, I think it's just in most people's nature, but then again you can only expect the same of them to you. At the end of the day it works both ways.

Good post.

 

[Dionysos]

This post ended up not so much about stereotypes, but about people disliking one another based on differences in general.

I find that many people can criticise a person for being different, but then say that they like conflict because it makes the world interesting in the same sentence. That doesn’t make sense to me personally. I can’t see how you can slate a person for all that they are and try to change them, and then turn and say that you find people being different interesting because of conflict. I like people to be different and to be whoever they want to be, and not to feel the need to conform to anyone else just because of a few harsh words. I’ve never understood why people can’t just accept differences and still find life interesting. The differences are all there within us all. I don’t need to punch someone in the face because they don’t think like me just to make my life interesting. Hearing what the person has to say and trying to understand the way they think is much more exciting in my opinion.

I try to avoid thinking bad things about anyone now. Sometimes my mind naturally forms these things, as every mind would do, but I reason with myself and try and see from another person’s angle. All of our minds work differently, and at the end of the day the person you are conflicting with owns a mind which is working differently to your own. It’s better to understand this and accept it. Perhaps a friendly argument could be great, but anything overly aggressive is too much in my opinion. That said, other people think differently, and many more people would rather punch a person in the face.

Sadly though people as a whole do judge one another, and do try to analyse one another, but ultimately they can never truly understand one another. When I’m aware that people are judging me I just try to ignore it, and accept it as something that will happen. Yeah, people are going to judge me, and it sucks as they aren’t me and don’t know me, but it’s their freedom to do that. It makes them feel more comfortable to label me as something, however wrong they will be. It’ll probably be my duty to let them know what I really am, even if this may be hard, and even if I perceive that I lack the skills to be able to express what I really am.

I’m not sure where I fit with stereotypes myself. I’ve never tried to conform, so perhaps people just labelled me as a “wtf?”. I was mostly a quiet loner at school (though I did have a few friends, I didn’t talk much but spent most of the time listening), and while at First School and Middle School everyone assumed I was dumb, in High School when my grades shot up to the top levels it reversed and everyone assumed I was super-smart and sent from God. The reality was far from it in both of these cases. I think people just didn’t know what to think of me, due to me not really giving anything out. As such I seem to have avoided the worst of school stereotyping and thus survived school with no harm done other than a troubled internal conflict of “wtf am I, actually?”.

Is it because we don't understand it or because we don't want to understand it? One of the worst things you can do is automatically create a barrier with someone, why would you want to do that?

I think it is this. When people observe something they perceive as negative, they want to just slam label it however it pleases them. Most of the time they do not want to understand the reasons for it, for fear that they may end up like this person themselves. I can understand this, but to me this is a bit unfair on the person being judged, as they may genuinely be trapped in a cycle which they cannot get out of due to the opinions of people they meet.

For example, and this is very extreme (and as such is probably a bad example as it’ll likely just be discarded, which would be understandable), but take a guy responsible for a mass shooting of some sorts. It’s very easy to slam a person like this into the categories of “evil”, “sent by the devil” or “twisted motherf*cker who should rot in hell”. In reality said person may have been a really great guy throughout his whole life, but he was not accepted by people for who he was. Bad things were said to him often, he had internal issues which some hard-headed people couldn’t understand or refused to understand and beat him up over it, and eventually something snapped. The mind is not always stable (something which many able-minded people can take for granted), and sometimes people can do things, terrible things, completely out of character. After an event like this people start to ignore all of the good things about this person’s life, and they try to interpret everything as being evil, for they are scared that through understanding the issues surrounding a figure such as this (or even by acknowledging this person as a human being) that they’ll snap one day themselves. In less extreme cases the same mentality applies, and while it may protect an individual for a moment it does not address the issue. Something makes people snap, and people need to know what causes this before it has the chance to happen to them, so that they can rid this possibility from their own lives. Blocking it out and labelling a person as evil is great for piling all of your anger into an individual, but if it is your mind which snaps then it’ll leave you even more confused, and your hate will then be turned inwards and what you are capable of could possibly increase. Yeah… Not accepting people can sometimes turn out to be deadly serious, but people try to quickly discard this thought and move on, and nothing changes.

That’s a very extreme, and very dark, example there, but the same thing would apply in general, I think. What people think does impact people who are different and want to be different, be it in their lifestyle, or simply what their mind generates. We’ve all lived different lives, and we are often slaves to our brain, even when we try to fight our brains. I guess people just find it easier (for storage perhaps?), to lump people under categories and to assume that they all work in the same way. In reality each person is different from the next, and each mind works differently. People’s minds tell them to do different things, and some people have stronger separation from their mind’s orders than others.

I find stereotypes great for fiction though. I think they can work really well there at times and characters can really benefit from them. For reality though, people are people. That said, there is a danger that people can take stereotypes as depicted in fiction and use them as confirmation of their own views about a particular type of person, instead of just taking it as fiction. The same can be said about national fictions and self-inflicted stereotypes of sorts. Many nations tell little lies about their culture and are selective in their histories, in order to create an identity for themselves. The truth is always more complex, but sometimes it makes the people of a nation feel good to believe that they belong to a nation which is distinct and unique from other nations. As a result some extremists within a nation may take this too far when another person is not perceived as conforming to this romantic vision.

I think that stereotypes can be great for jokes, so long as it is clear that it is a joke, and so long as they do not go too far (though I don’t think that a line could ever be drawn, for we all differ on where we think it should be drawn, if at all). If it is clear that you don’t actually think that all people are so and so, and do this and that then I don’t see harm in it. It’s very hard to tell this though. If I was to think of a joke (not very often at all) based around stereotypes then it would be a case of me mocking the concept of stereotypes rather than the actual people included in them. I think that for many people this may be the same with them too, though I could be wrong.

Personally I love it when I see people standing out and being their own person. I find people like this much more interesting than ‘normal’ people really. It’s sad when some people attack a person (verbally or physically) who is different and try to break them down.

One day hopefully we’ll reach an ultimate understanding and evolve as a race. It probably won’t happen for a very long time though, as a lot of people seem to get their kicks from hating one another. Many people’s minds just cannot take people who deviate, and this can have serious consequences which in turn will lead to more hate, anger and increased alienation. Perhaps they never will. In fact, I think that it is very likely that we’ll never change, for how can we when we ALL think differently, sometimes slight, but sometimes dramatically different? Not without mass produced slave crowns handed to all but one person could any serious progress be made, and that in itself would be horrible too.

 

[Gaige]

I find stereotypes great for fiction though. I think they can work really well there at times and characters can really benefit from them.

This I very much agree on I think some stereotypical characters here and there can inject life into the story. They are simple, yet easily malleable so that they can be changed at the drop of the hat.

I'm going to reference Final Fantasy XIII here. Sazh was a typical black stereotype. Witty. Looking at life without much seriousness. He even had a chocobo chick in a stereotypical afro. Yet he was fleshed out into a believable character with detail and development. It's proof of their use in fiction.

 

[TheMixedHerb]

Hearing what the person has to say and trying to understand the way they think is much more exciting in my opinion.

I agree, I definitley like to get to know people on that basis and generally see how their mind works, I guess i'm one of the people who prefers to resolve things with verbal actions, rather than physical.

Physical acts of agression because of a stereotype is a horrible thing to do, yet people seem to do it since they don't know any better, sadly.

I try to avoid thinking bad things about anyone now. Sometimes my mind naturally forms these things, as every mind would do, but I reason with myself and try and see from another person’s angle. All of our minds work differently, and at the end of the day the person you are conflicting with owns a mind which is working differently to your own. It’s better to understand this and accept it. Perhaps a friendly argument could be great, but anything overly aggressive is too much in my opinion. That said, other people think differently, and many more people would rather punch a person in the face.

I understand what you mean here, as I said in my previous post it just seems to be a natural thing, but the fact that you try and see it from their angle is a great thing. It's definitley something everyone should try to do, just imagine what it's like for them and how you're coming off.

Friendly arguments are great, I have them all the time really, it's just when things resort to being sarcastic or using petty insults is when I tend to stop with it, people don't seem to see eye to eye on a lot of matters. So there's no need to get upset about it I say.

Sadly though people as a whole do judge one another, and do try to analyse one another, but ultimately they can never truly understand one another. When I’m aware that people are judging me I just try to ignore it, and accept it as something that will happen. Yeah, people are going to judge me, and it sucks as they aren’t me and don’t know me, but it’s their freedom to do that. It makes them feel more comfortable to label me as something, however wrong they will be. It’ll probably be my duty to let them know what I really am, even if this may be hard, and even if I perceive that I lack the skills to be able to express what I really am.

I don't think judging is that bad, so long as you're willing to know the person inside and not what you think the person is. There have been many cases where a person i've met (as an example) have seemed intimidating but they've actually been some of the nicest people i've met.

I’m not sure where I fit with stereotypes myself. I’ve never tried to conform, so perhaps people just labelled me as a “wtf?”. I was mostly a quiet loner at school (though I did have a few friends, I didn’t talk much but spent most of the time listening), and while at First School and Middle School everyone assumed I was dumb, in High School when my grades shot up to the top levels it reversed and everyone assumed I was super-smart and sent from God. The reality was far from it in both of these cases. I think people just didn’t know what to think of me, due to me not really giving anything out. As such I seem to have avoided the worst of school stereotyping and thus survived school with no harm done other than a troubled internal conflict of “wtf am I, actually?”.

haha, that doesn't sound too bad, i've had similar occurences or known people who've been through something like that.
The stereotypical quiet kid is in fact normally overlooked, since they never really speak up or say anything for themselves, so they just generally let people think what they want.
I'm quiet person myself and I know people have probably thought all sorts about me, it's like "ooh, he's quiet, that must mean ..."

I think it is this. When people observe something they perceive as negative, they want to just slam label it however it pleases them. Most of the time they do not want to understand the reasons for it, for fear that they may end up like this person themselves. I can understand this, but to me this is a bit unfair on the person being judged, as they may genuinely be trapped in a cycle which they cannot get out of due to the opinions of people they meet.

Agreed, it's the part of us that doesn't necessarily want to understand (as you said) out of fear of being like that person theirself, it's quite odd when you think about it. Since... why would it be bad in the first place if you was like that person? If you're going off a stereotype you don't really have that much of a basis. (Okay, I know people sometimes generally conform to these stereotypes but I think people get my gist.)

Not accepting people can sometimes turn out to be deadly serious, but people try to quickly discard this thought and move on, and nothing changes.

I think more people should do this, sure, we all stereotype, but how is that stopping us from knowing more about the person? Also, even if they DO fit the stereotype, so? What's wrong with it in the first place?

I think that stereotypes can be great for jokes, so long as it is clear that it is a joke, and so long as they do not go too far (though I don’t think that a line could ever be drawn, for we all differ on where we think it should be drawn, if at all). If it is clear that you don’t actually think that all people are so and so, and do this and that then I don’t see harm in it.
Personally I love it when I see people standing out and being their own person. I find people like this much more interesting than ‘normal’ people really. It’s sad when some people attack a person (verbally or physically) who is different and try to break them down.

Once again, agreed.
I've heard plenty of Englishman, Irishman and Scotsman jokes in my time and stuff like that, and most of the people who've told them to me have been one of the three, people just need to take things with a pinch of salt.

One day hopefully we’ll reach an ultimate understanding and evolve as a race. It probably won’t happen for a very long time though, as a lot of people seem to get their kicks from hating one another. Many people’s minds just cannot take people who deviate, and this can have serious consequences which in turn will lead to more hate, anger and increased alienation. Perhaps they never will. In fact, I think that it is very likely that we’ll never change, for how can we when we ALL think differently, sometimes slight, but sometimes dramatically different? Not without mass produced slave crowns handed to all but one person could any serious progress be made, and that in itself would be horrible too.

I don't think everyone should necessarily think the same, but they should be aware of the fact that not everyone processes things like they do. So things may appear different to you as they would to them, their norm is what you'd consider as odd, and so on.

Edit:

I'm going to reference Final Fantasy XIII here. Sazh was a typical black stereotype. Witty. Looking at life without much seriousness. He even had a chocobo chick in a stereotypical afro. Yet he was fleshed out into a believable character with detail and development. It's proof of their use in fiction.

I think in fiction it works pretty well, all things considered. When you place a stereotype on a fictional character they either stick to it or you're pleasantly (or not so) suprised at how different they were than you were expecting, although I believe stereotypes in fiction is a bit of a different matter. I still agree with your point here.

 

[Eight]

I look on stereotypes more of a fiction device than anything else at this moment in time, which, y'know, if it's generally funny and not plain spiteful then yeah, like most of us I will laugh at it. It's a shame though when it is used to just offend.

I like to think I try to look at someone for what they are inside, and not some Media image that we see portrayed on TV, but y'know what, I'm not gonna lie, I have been guilty of stereotyping sometimes, and I'm most likely gonna do it numerous times in the future, and I don't and won't believe anyone who says they won't stereotype and never will.

It's weird though, it does seem like human nature to categorise sometimes, like its a Lion's nature to categorise a zebra as food, and it seems to happen even to the nicest of us, I really do believe it's some sort of natural instinct we have. But it's not like it pops up out of thin air, at the end of the day, it is based of either;

A) The majority, obviously
B) When a specific type of person in the group gets on the news, or even just does something to attract mass attention, i.e. Extremists within the Muslim belief.
or C) Something that happened in the past. i.e. Nazis in Germany.

And tragically enough, stereotypes have been on the mark occasionally, there are gangstas who would mug ya for a fiver, there are emos who'd continue to wear black skinny jeans and cut themselves, there are muslims who would set off bombs because they think its what their god wants, and there are hillbillies who are members of the KKK and live off roadkill. Hell, I know there are London boys who'd sell you out to protect their own hide, or even just for a penny.

I think it's just important to remind ourselves though that it doesn't apply to everyone, but don't go thinking you're scum of the earth for stereotyping. At the end of the day, we're only human, we have our instincts. I think it's just important to remember in the scenario to not say anything.

 

[TheMixedHerb]

I look on stereotypes more of a fiction device than anything else at this moment in time, which, y'know, if it's generally funny and not plain spiteful then yeah, like most of us I will laugh at it. It's a shame though when it is used to just offend.

I think it's a bit of a different matter in fiction, but it works all the same I guess. I think that a bit of light-hearted banter about such things is never a bad thing at all, it's just when people take it that one step too far and you find yourself in that position.

I think it's just important to remind ourselves though that it doesn't apply to everyone, but don't go thinking you're scum of the earth for stereotyping. At the end of the day, we're only human, we have our instincts. I think it's just important to remember in the scenario to not say anything.

I don't believe stereotyping to be a bad thing (although stereotyping is stereotypically thought of as being bad... at least that's what I think, irony.) but this is in moderation, of course. As I said a bit of banter about the subject is fine, but full blown out insults over such matters is just petty. We're all human at the end of the day and some people certainly don't act it.