The Key to Avoid Stereotyping

            Stereotypes are thoughts that assumed about specific types of people or individual ways of living, but that belief may or may not be representative of real life. Stereotyping is generally not a bad thing, it's just that stereotyping can lead to worse things like discrimination. This happens when stereotypes are used to account for prejudices that are ignorant of the truth. When someone gives certain characteristics to a group and then judges those characteristics, combined with the lack of motivation to change one's actions and beliefs towards the stereotyped group, it ends up preventing those stereotyped people from being able to pursue happiness, and may even hinder their opportunity to engage in social activities and social mobility.

            Stereotypes cultivate both racial and religious intolerance. Religious tolerance is how strongly a person or group allows themselves to socialize with members of a different religious group. We must be promoting religious tolerance in our society. According to the Council on American-Islamic Relations, "32 percent of Americans harbor negative attitudes toward Muslims and 25 percent believe Muslims teach their children to hate; just two percent expressed positive attitudes towards Muslims." This is not conducive to an atmosphere in which we should be educating for religious tolerance. As one group has a specific ill-informed view of another, it generally makes them act out negatively such as by discriminating. As a result, the group being stereotyped feels alienated and loses respect for the original group, thus hindering the chances for further dialogue and religious tolerance. Without any dialogue, we cannot make any sort of progress towards understanding, appreciating, and accepting other religions.

            When I was in middle school there was a young girl who asked me if I lived in the desert. I was not quite sure what she was asking so I was very surprised to find that she assumed that because I was Mexican, I must have come from the desert. I wasn't so upset that I made a scene or threw a fit, I was just very sad to think that American's were ignorant of the geography of Mexico. I then realized that I was already placing the stereotype on Americans that they were ignorant, only because of one person, and so I laughed at myself and moved away from the situation. Luckily my encounter with stereotyping was mild, and I am thankful that I had the opportunity to learn from the situation.

            The key to avoid stereotyping is to question your own judgements and beliefs no matter how much you trust them. Give yourself a moment to take a step back and make a judgement based on the big picture. Check all resources and look for truthful facts about whatever information that you have been given. Don't automatically trust the opinions of others because chance are that they are biased. We all are. If there is no evidence or facts on a specific matter, then don't draw any conclusions until you can be sure beyond and reasonable doubt that the information is true. It is so important to realize that every person on this planet is an individual. Practice the golden rule. Treat others as you would like to be treated. Don't form and opinions or judgements about other people or groups until you have personally spoke to them. Make more diverse friends. When conversing to people, strive to be as engaged in what the other person or people are saying.  Base your judgements on who they are and not about their race, culture, language, religion, or nationality. It is not easy to avoid stereotypes about people, but practice, hard work, and determination you will find that learning to avoid stereotypes is incredibly rewarding.

Works Consulted

Editor, EHow Relationships & Family. "How to Avoid Stereotypes." EHow. Demand Media, 13 Aug. 2007.                       Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ehow.com/how_2074997_avoid-stereotypes.html>.

Kamal, Mia, Jason Turcotte, Davis Donyelle, and Christy Arrazattee. "An Experiment in Tolerance: How                             Religious Stereotypes Shape Attitudes of Reciprocity and Political Engagement | Mia Kamal -                               Academia.edu." Academia.edu. Louisiana State University, n.d. Web. 28 Nov. 2012.

"Stereotypes." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 28 Nov. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/

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