This Stereotypical World of Ours

Written by Keith Santos

I .Introduction to Stereotypes.

I will be here to share my opinion about a world issue that isn’t really noticed easily by just looking at the world or an issue that is seen through a psychological perspective. This world issue is about Stereotypes or people who discriminate others. Now what exactly is a stereotype? It is when a person thinks of the whole group of somethings or some people the same just because of the actions of one individual from that certain group. Now you may wonder why this is such a bad thing or how it was dubbed as a Worldwide issue, that’s a long explanation. Unlike those nuclear weapons or terrorism that gives an immediate reaction or suddenly alerts the world, being stereotypical can cause plenty of misunderstandings, Discriminations and false information over time. Sad to say some of these Ideas have existed a long time.

II. Some Examples of being Stereotypical.

Now where can you see or notice people being Stereotypical? Honestly everywhere around the world. Now have heard about those Terrorists from Iran or when they say Asians you immediately think of Chinese people? Bam, Stereotype. Not all citizens are from Iran, Most are very friendly in general, it’s just that most stories regarding terrorism COMES from Iran. And Asians? Everyone knows that Asia is a big continent, China is just a part of it. And do you notice that most students in school are classified in many groups because of their characteristics, styles and actions? When you see the athletes you might think “Jocks”, The people who love black and loud music “Emo” or even the Intelligent and Hardworking students as “Nerds”. It’s wrong that we cannot just classify all people in society in one group just because of how they act and seem. But we can’t really blame people for thinking that way, it’s just that they grew up with that specific mind set because the world corrupted their minds.

III. How being Stereotypical spreads from person to person.

We have the news, the internet, Books and Social Media. When we see something trending or a famous post being shared, most people would believe it by just looking at the thing. I admit I have done those and is a Stereotype myself because I have just recently opened up my mind to the more important aspects so I am still learning. I really did think most terrorists were from Iraq, Iran and Saudi until I searched the net and found out that those specific terrorists were just the most noticeable. Added to fact that Bin Laden came from Saudi, making the place seem more “Dangerous” because people thought that all Arabians were similar to Bin Laden. People can easily spread these rumors and miscommunications to their family and friends, the chain of false information spreads endlessly.

IV. How many people feel about Stereotypes.

Over the years I’ve already noticed a lot of people being discriminated wrongly, Now that I had put further thought on the topic, I found more instances of this. Many African American men are immediately discriminated because of their Skin color. This started because conquerors then were very unintelligent and perceived them as Lowly because they were dark skinned. This fallacy stuck until now because beliefs, false or not, are hard to stop, even though we already have plenty of proof now that everyone is equal. Another thing is that sometimes stereotypes expect something more from you because the people you are with are known to be good at that. Another instance of being judged as a group, not an individual. Many people get depressed because of other Stereotypical people who mock and discriminate them and depression is very common in this case. They judge people without even getting to know them. This may not seem like a very important issue on the global scale, but this causes problems with trust and equality. There will never be peace without trust and equality, so this must be stopped.

V. Possible Solutions to this type of Mentality.

There are many ways to solve this problem, but the most common way is to have an open mind. Don’t let society’s views and judgements cloud your own, you must figure it out with your own reasoning and go with what you think is write. We must learn not to classify people anymore and see each individual as unique and special in their own ways. We need to know everyone because God is the one who created us, thus He is the only one who can truly judge us. Because when we judge people, we don’t see who they are, we see who WE truly are.