upon reading the hairdresser thread, i got to thinking about how people jump to call a person a racist when they say something negative about a "group", whether it be class, race, culture, etc.

while stereotyping is negative by definition, i don't believe that it "automatically" makes a person a racist. the "hate" factor needs to be there.

thoughts?

I don't know Jill, I think there are different degrees of racism. On one end you have those who would like to eliminate other races (extremely hateful), in the middle are those who don't wish ill will or harm on anyone but would like to see everyone in their "place", then on the other end you have those who in general feel everyone is equal they don't wish anyone harm but they tend to believe stereotypes and perpetuate those stereotypes.

The last group are the ones most able to be educated and drop their predjudices but I would still say they have racist tendencies because they believe stereotypes.

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Asexuality: It's not just for amoebas anymore

"As long as two people love each other I don't think God cares whether they both have a hoo hoo or a haa haa" Marge Simpson

You know, I just don't have the heart or energy to debate this one again. Where is Jessica?

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Snowy days!



Jennifer (37) & Chris (41)
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me neither. lol

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Tandem nursing, co-sleeping, and babywearing mama to DS Rowan (3/24/03) & DD Ava (12/13/05)

Stereotyping comes from somewhere, it doesn't speak for 100% of a race and I don't think anyone ever claims that it does, also it doesn't have to necessarily be a negative stereotype. It does not make someone a racist to say that Italians talk with their hands and eat a lot of pasta, AA's like fried chicken, and Mexicans drive pick-up trucks....it's an observation that people notice on a regular basis.

There's an ounce of truth to these stereotypes but that doesn't mean that one feels hatred for any of the above races.

Racism is hate and does not equate with stereotyping. JMO.

Yeah Nov and the Irish are all a bunch of drunk police officers. Buying in to stereotypes is a form of racism, plain and simple. You do not have to feel hate to be a bigot. Isn't that the point we have tried to make with the BAC's about their feelings on gay people?

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Asexuality: It's not just for amoebas anymore

"As long as two people love each other I don't think God cares whether they both have a hoo hoo or a haa haa" Marge Simpson

Saying that homosexuality is wrong and they're all going to burn in hell for their sins is not the same thing as Italians being known for eating pasta.

Apples and oranges Geela.

I also never said "all" in reference to your Irish drunken police officers comment..seeing as I'm Italian but don't eat pasta because it's too fattening but know that a butt load of them do eat it.....that makes me a bigot because I have observed something throughout my lifetime? Okay.

Like I said before these stereotypes were not pulled out of someones @ss, there's an ounce of truth to it and it doesn't necessarily have to be a negative.

I agree with this statement. Just because some of the people that you see or know do a certain thing, doesn't mean that you should say that EVERYONE in that race likes that or does that.
Do you know that most of my gay (men) friends do not like anal sex. And my one friend who is Jewish doesn't like Bagels. Now from what I hear, gay men like to have anal sex and Jewish people like Bagels.

No there doesn't. A person in my family, calls AA people NI***S. She says that she doesn't have any problems with them, and doesn't hate them. She says she is not a racist, because it's not like she is out trying to kill them (like the KKK or some other hate group) or do harm to them. She wishes no harm to them, therefore its okay to call them that.

Personally, I felt that the Indian comments were offensive. More so about the "dirty hair" than anything else.

As for the answer to this post, I think that these things fall more into stereotyping than racism. Someone can come to a (often entirely wrongful) generalization about a group of people simply b/c of their one encouter with someone of their group. If a stylist only personally knows of only one family that are Indian, and that family are confirmed poor tippers, then 100% of the Indians she knows are poor tippers. A more appropriate (but still doesn't sound good) statement might be "100% of the Indians that I know are poor tippers", and not a generalization that they all are like that.

I have a question = If stereotyping were based more on region verses race, would it seem less offensive? For example, if I knew two women from L.A. (the only two that I'd ever met) and they were both superficial and flighty, a comment could follow that "women from L.A. are fake and airheads". It would still be an unfair characterization as it may not apply to the majority of women from L.A., but somehow it doesn't smack of the same impropriety as classifying people based on race.

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Charlene ~ Mom to Jason 6/12/03 and Lauren 3/12/07

This gets a little sticky for me. When talking about people from other cultures, I don't think it's stereotyping to understand their cultures. There are certainly things that other cultures do that if you work with them it's important to understand. I studied protocol as part of my major in college and it's eye opening. Understanding the differences in people helps those who work with them. It is critical if you work with foreigners to understand what makes their culture tick. Is that racist? Stereotyping? Perhaps, but I don't think it's negative. In fact, I think it is wise to be sensitive to it.

However, I think that there definitely are some negative cultural stereotypes that come just from being different. People are uncomfortable with differences so they shun groups because of them. I think that's wrong.

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Nov there are plenty of BAC's who have not said anything about gay people burning in hell, they simply have said that they don't think gay marriage should be allowed. They have said nothing more than that and been called for being a bigot. If a person believes in stereotypes that person is a bigot.

While it is true enough that plenty of pasta dishes originated in Italy that does not mean *all* italians eat it. To buy into a stereotype, whether that sterotype is good, bad or indifferent is still bigoted.

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Asexuality: It's not just for amoebas anymore

"As long as two people love each other I don't think God cares whether they both have a hoo hoo or a haa haa" Marge Simpson

Again Geela, I never said "all"....but they speak for a certain majority.


Wanting to strip people of their right's is not the same thing as my observation that a lot of gays (at least every homosexual I ever came across) LOVE Madonna.

Oops, there I go being a bigot again.

I don't think it's okay to sum people up into one little group. And I agree Betsey, there are certain things you can't help but notice.
I know a few girls who like to date AA men, and these men usually end up cheating on the girls. Do all black men cheat? Nope, these 2 girls just happen to pick out really crappy boyfriends.

Betsey= Betsy

I will agree with this but have to tweek it just a bit,
I think that these things fall more into stereotyping , out of ignorance, than racism, out of hate.

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Racism is one of the more overused words of our days.

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I honestly don't understand why this is bigoted. Uneducated, narrow-minded perhaps, but not bigoted.

Every group of people have stereotypes associated with them. As the daughter of British parents, I can tell you that the whole "British people have bad teeth" is not true. People laugh about it, and so can I, but it's not bigoted.

I seriously think that the words "racist" and "bigot" are thrown around so often, that it's getting to the point where we can't celebrate our different cultures or comment on them for fear of being called "racist".

I don't know if any of you saw Oprah yesterday, but they were discussing a new documentary out called "Trading Races". A black family was madeup to look white, and a white family was made up to look black. Each family lived that way for 6 weeks (I think). The two women were receiving lessons on how to speak the other culture's way. The white woman used the word "b.itch" to refer to the black woman in a friendly way, and of course the black woman was extremely insulted. We then find out that the caucasian was under the impression that it was ok to use that language.
Was it racist? No. She fell for the stereotype. The same thing as the white husband who used the N word because he was under the impression that AA talk like that.

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yeah, let me give you an example of stereotyping...(or is it the true? )

People who cut other people's hair are a dumb losers/trailer trash who are frustrated that they cannot get anywhere in life so try to make a someone into a scapegoat for all that is wrong in their life.

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***Pournima***

I guess I see this differently; the caucasian couple acted out of ignorance in my opinion. "Falling" for a stereotype is nothing more than ignorance as well.
I don't necessarily mean ignorant in a snarky way, I just think that making an assumption that covers an entire race, based on the limited amount of people you have been exposed to in your life, is ignorant.
I also believe that ignorance can breed racism. Not everyone is born hating other races, but sweeping generalizations of other cultures can lead to "hatred" of something a person doesn't understand.

Sorry for the way this is written, I'm a little loopy on cold meds right now~

Kelli

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That's just stupid.