USARiseUp

Growing up as one of those "minorities" was never at all disturbing until I finally completely understood what this was. In school we are taught that we must not judge and that we should treat people the way we want to be treated. Now growing up I realize that this was never easy. Not only are many of us not treated the way we are supposed to be, many of us are also belittled because of the stereotypes and labels put upon us. It is hard for us to truly express ourselves when we are labeled and that is where I think many come to judge so quickly. "Oh she's Mexican she must work as a cleaning lady, or he's Black so he must be ghetto, and even she's Asian so she must have passed her math classes with A's." These labels and stereotypes make it harder for us because we are expected to live by them as if they were our own constitution. The faster time goes by the stereotypes and labels never really cease to exist because they continue to carry on from generation to generation no matter if we liked it or not. I just wished that there could at least be an improvement and decrease in the number of people who just let this topic slide.

As "imperfect" human beings, we as a society tend to form certain ideas and views about people. Some of the thoughts and ideas may be intentional and some may not be. Stereotypical ideas come to mind regardless of whether or not it was intended, that is because everyone is different and that's okay to see those different characteristics and to be curious, what gets society into trouble is labeling and stereotyping negatively based on a person's appearance. I think as a society in order to minimize and reduce these labels is by getting to know the person and seeing them for who they are in regards to their interests, likes/dislikes, sense of adventure, etc rather than where they live or what type of job they have. I also believe it is very important to teach younger generations as they are in childhood to be accepting of others and their differences rather than teaching children the same way the parents/grandparents were raised as since we are in completely different times and things have changed. I do feel that the media plays a part in how we place labels, seeing certain tv shows, movies, and the news, we tend to categorize certain individuals who look similar in background, appearance, and clothes together. All we can do is progress, to learn and accept each other for who are and get to know one another.

I am not considered to be a member in a minority group, but the high school I attended had the largest number of minority students in the district. Even though the color of my skin does not make me a minority, the quality of the education I received was questioned by my friends from other schools. I was ranked in the top 30 of 780 students and I heard comments like, "The competition wasn't as high" or "Your curriculum had to be modified to accommodate others." I was asked questions like, "Do you have metal detectors when you enter and leave the buildings?" or "Do you feel safe walking around your campus?" I was shocked to hear all of these comments and that people would even think of such things. I got a taste of what it is like for your hard earned success to be dumbed down or questioned and for how hurtful stereotypes can be. A revelation from the article I liked was that it's not the stereotype itself, but it's the actions that come with the stereotypes. People treat others differently based on their physical appearance without even trying to understand them, and it is they who will miss out on the richness of other's cultures.

Stereotypes can alter the view you have of people who are different than you in the way that you begin to categorize people under one main label and framework, and then you begin to take away from the unique individual qualities and characteristics of any one particular racial or ethnic group. These characteristics, instead of being cherished as qualities that make the culture more rich, end up being the scrutinizing factors by which we judge racial and ethnic groups outside of our own. When I stop to think about the "truth" that lies behind any one particular stereotype it sickens me because the truth is that bigotry and hatred have become the dividing line between ethic groups, even if the stereotype is depicted as a positive one. For example, asians are often stereotyped as smart, but not all asians are smart, and the fact that each asian can be thrown into a category marked as smart simply because of their appearance is wrong on all levels. The problem with labeling is that we end up separating ourselves from one another, when in reality we are all a lot more alike than different.

Stereotypes, since they are so common to our day-to-day well-being, can easily be mistaken to many Americans and people in general. It is easy to judge a stereotype and for it to become the “common truth”. Being a minority myself I have a lot of experience with this type of stereotyping, especially in elementary school I was teased for being “smart” or just looking smart because I was of Asian descent. This type of stereotype didn’t hurt me but I could imagine stereotypes of Mexican, black people, and now Muslims being exteremly offensive. It is hard to imagine that because there are more African Americans in prison; African Americans must be more dangerous. This is obviously not true and there are other factors involved. It is important to think objectively at what you are being told and what you believe yourself.

The poster “we are a culture, not a costume” is a great idea by Ohio State University, it shows how ignorant Americans can be and that it is not okay to let the media create negative perceptions of races and ethnicities. With this type of movement everyone can relate no matter what type of race you are.

I believe that most people that view others through the prism of stereotype do so in ignorance, not because they are racist. However, for the problem of ethnic/racial stereotyping to be reduced in American society, both the print and electronic media have a duty to educate people about the dangers of using racial stereotypes. Television shows that promote such labels (stereotypes) should either be sanitised or pulled off the air.
Also, parents have an obligation to teach their children to accept peoples of different ethnicity or race for who they are (individual personality).

In most cases I believe that stereotypes generalize about a small portion of a certain race which affects the entire group. Yes I know stereotypes can be both positive and negative also false and true, however most of the negative and falsified stereotypes can truly hurt the image of a race, gender, or ethnicity especially in politics. Just because a Muslim extremist group attacked the Twin Towers on September 11 not all Muslims are terrorist. I think sometimes society forgets that not all African Americans are a like just as not all Women are alike. We all express different views, physical characteristics, styles, and even political opinions.
I believe racial stereotypes are mostly created by the media today. I believe the best way to stop this, is through education and the people within the US needs to stand up to media outlets. Force media to speak the truth and respect the people of this nation.

Stereotyping someone from a young age unintentionally can influence their life as they grow up more than you can imagine. Being hispanic and growing up in a caucasian community was a bit hard as a child. As I got older and got closer to graduating from high school many parents would ask me, "oh so are you going to be going to college or are you just going to take a year off?" and I would look around and ask if anyone else was getting the same question I was. Many people tend to stereotype hispanics as that we go uneducated after high school or because we already have a child. And that's not true, although I know statistics show that hispanic girls tend to get pregnant at a young age. That doesn't mean that I all underneath the bar, and so by that people need to stop assuming stereotypes with someones race, because that can discourage them completely of what they are striving for.

What I’ve learned in all my years is that Life constantly surprises you. You start to feel as if you’ve ‘’figured” it all out, then a curve ball gets thrown your way, causing you to go back to the dugout and rethink your position. That’s the problem with stereotypes and labels. They are built upon expectations and generalizations and there is always something, or someone, that will challenge or break it down. Perhaps we need to offer courses on that one piece of wisdom that our grandparents tried to teach us: Life, and people, will always find ways to surprise you; it is best to just accept that. Don’t be a fool and think that you’ve “got it all figured out”.

Since I work with children, I often have the idea that children who are not white, somehow have a difficult home life whether economically, physically or emotionally. While I do not mean to assume thoughts like that, they still happen. With previous experience I have seen where that was the case but I am very surprised many of times by their home life. What I have had to start doing is basing my judgment on the individual instead of their culture background. The actions that one does should be what people recognize and not their skin color or the way they speak. This is a really difficult issue to overcome and it is a daily reminder to remain unbiased.

Stereotypes and labels can be extremely harmful. Chances are who ever you have put a label you've misjudged to some degree. I feel as though most people are the same at the core. With good well intended hearts. It goes against what I believe in to judge people especially by the color of their skin or the clothes on their back. The circumstance we are faced with in our lives is what molds in to the people we are. You do not know my story any more than I know yours; therefore you are not any right to judge. Judging is God's job and He does it well, so we need to leave it to Him to do so. We were ALL made in His image and we are ALL equal. We should treat others in the way we wished to be treated. If we all did how beautiful would this would be?

After 9/11 I was afraid to fly with Muslims on my plane. This was because of a stereotype that had developed after several terrorist attacks. Last year I watched a very interesting documentary called "Where In the World is Osama bin Laden?" In the documentary, the filmmaker traveled to some of the alleged countries of where Bin Laden might of been hiding. I was surprised to learn the opinion of many Muslims was so far from what I had preconceived. Stereotypes are like lies. They prevent us from learning the truth about people, places and things. I spent last semester in Oxford and got to travel to many countries. In these countries, when people learned I was from Texas, USA they had me stereotyped. It was very disheartening to hear what some of these people thought of Texans and Americans. The only way to prevent stereotyping in my opinion is to start from a clean slate with everything. Anytime I meet someone new I try not to assume anything about them until I have learned from that person. The same applies with places and things. If we can just stop judging books by their cover I think many stereotypes can be avoided.

I have learned through the past twenty years of my life about stereotypes and how in the end, they are not true at all. Our society is full of stereotypes about every single person out there and there are so many wrong ways about that. It has been tough to try and break these stereotypes ideas but I have come along way since the first time I have heard these. I have to come out of my norm to do this and interact with a race different than mind and even though at first it is extremely hard and uncomfortable, in the end it all works out and I feel much better about that certain race and have built long term relationships with them.

Stereotypes and labels can be very harmful to people. Many people don’t like to be stereotype. I grew up in a home where I learned that it was not right to judge others based on race or anything for that matter. I agree with what the STAR students did. They proved that we have used race and ethnicity as a joke. We should not be judged by our background. Many people don’t know what others have gone through and instead of judging or stereotyping, people should take the time to get to know them. I think people who judge others or label others are ignorant and close-minded. We are all equal no matter what we look like or where we come from.

Costumes that perpetuate harmful stereotypes about minorities should be considered as abhorrent as or even more so than racial slurs. Consider that Halloween is a holiday directed at children and that children will be the most influenced by the offensive costuming. We must continue to challenge insensitive or outright offensive behaviors no matter what for they take. I commend the students at Ohio State for taking a positive step in that direction.

I truly believe that because of the society in which I have grown up in, most of my generation does not really have stereotypes that color the lens. Sure there are stereotypes that we know, but I am not sure that we use them as a broad stereotype to all of the individuals in that group. I also think that because we are taught to question everything that we see and hear; that we inherently examine the truth of these stereotypes, coming to the conclusion that they cannot be true.
I am not sure that there is really anything you can do to minimize the impact of negative stereotypes. It is a personal choice to know that they mean nothing, and if you take them seriously maybe that says something about yourself more so than everyone else. Furthermore, the poster that the Ohio students put out I believe is taking things that are harmless and making them serious. How many times have you seen people dress up like: Kevin Federline, someone from a trailer park, a nerd, or any of the other Caucasian stereotypes. I think it boils down to this, until you start seeing race as unimportant people will give stereotypes more credence than they should get.

Stereotypes can become self-fulfilling prophecies. As the article mentioned, one such negative stereotype is that African-Americans don't work hard or would rather be on welfare. If employers buy in to this stereotype, or are even slightly influenced by it, it decreases the chances of them hiring someone of that background. Thus, less African-Americans are hired, and soon the stereotype seems to be even truer, because more of them do not have jobs. Yet instead of being caused by a lack of work ethic, this is then caused by a negative, and false, stereotype.

We cannot extract ourselves from the world of stereotypes. Each of us are influenced in subtle ways daily. Instead of pretending that we are immune to judging based on stereotypes, we must actively root out such prejudices. For example, before an interview with an African-American, an employer could remind him or herself that even though there is a negative stereotype, it is not true, and that the interview should focus on more than preconceived notions.

I appreciate the efforts of the STARS campaign that draws attention to the wrongful exploitation of minority groups on Halloween. People dress up in satirical costumes that reinforce racial stereotypes because it’s perceived to be funny, but this practice only perpetuates prejudice against minorities. Because this is done with the intention of having fun, the seriousness of racial stereotyping and the resulting oppression is undermined. However, the perpetuation of stereotypes through an apparent entertainment value is something that occurs all the time, rather than just once a year on Halloween. For example, widely popular shows like “Jersey Shore” stereotype Italian Americans under the guise of entertainment, but when groups like the NIAF (National Italian American Foundation) attempt to draw attention to this fact, their point of view is dismissed as too sensitive and too critical. Racial stereotyping will continue as long as it is constantly belittled and viewed as entertaining.

Some may criticize the STARS group for addressing something as trivial as Halloween costumes, but I think it is a great idea. Trying to solve the issue of stereotyping as a whole is overwhelming and very difficult. Starting by calling our attention to little things like Halloween costumes is a good way to get people talking. When people go to the store or surf the web to get ideas for costumes I’m sure that many people do not select a costume to be intentionally hateful. Perhaps a young lady just wants to look pretty in a geisha kimono dress! I bet a lot of people are completely unaware that their costume is offensive in the first place. BUT if a costume is offensive, you ought to let people know! How can people change if they don’t know what they are doing is wrong? It’s obvious that stereotypes are wrong. Unfortunately, to some people, it’s not so obvious that your Halloween costume is making a negative statement about someone else’s culture. By launching the costume poster campaign, STARS is showing people that their innocent attempt to look cute in a Halloween costume is in actuality making a statement about the hurtful nature of stereotypes. In the big scheme of things, wearing a costume one night out of the year is not that important, but when it comes to solving the problems of stereotyping, you have to start somewhere! Kudos to the STARS group!

It is easy for me to see through stereotypes and labels of ethnic groups when I am familiar with somebody that belongs to that group. There have been times in the past when I held stereotypical views of certain ethnicities or religions without realizing I held these views. After I get to know a person, or several people that are members of these groups or religions, I realize that I have stereotypes of these people. I know for me, that when I do not have a frame of reference to compare stereotypes to, I tend to be more willing to believe them. I think many of these stereotypes come from the media. We are often bombarded with negative stereotypes given to us in the form of a joke. We seem to take it more lightly when we find humor in labels and stereotypes. I liked the idea of the poster campaign to make people more aware of how lightly we take racism and stereotyping. I think we need to make ourselves more aware when we are being exposed to negative stereotypes.

Since the beginning labels and stereotypes are what people have based their lives around and peoples insecurities to step outside the stereotypes are what keep the problem around. Too many people want acceptance and automatically resort to conforming with their cultures label. Being yourself is how you get people to understand you and where you come from don't throw up a protection of a label if you want them to go away.

Stereotypes and labels as discussed in the passage do serve a function in society as they do provide some sense of normalcy and predictability, yet too often our reliance on them can have devastating consequences. For example, studies have shown that people with traditionally racially or ethnically non-white sounding names are less likely to even get a job interview over those candidates who do not, let alone get hired. This is because of the persistent stereotypes associated with their racial or ethnic identity that may be negative. Another example is the fact that stereotypes tend to hold back people from supporting racially or ethnically diverse political candidates based on stereotypes and prejudicial assumptions about them. This sadly limits the representation of such minorities in politics and prevents full equality from occurring. Thus while there may be some valid sociological role for the existence and continued propagation of stereotypes and labels based on things like race and ethnicity, I would contend that too often today they are serving as prison cells holding our society back from true progress.

I appreciate the efforts of the STARS campaign that draws attention to the wrongful exploitation of minority groups on Halloween. People dress up in satirical costumes that reinforce racial stereotypes because it’s perceived to be funny, but this practice only perpetuates prejudice against minorities. Because this is done with the intention of having fun, the seriousness of racial stereotyping and the resulting oppression is undermined. However, the perpetuation of stereotypes through an apparent entertainment value is something that occurs all the time, rather than just once a year on Halloween. For example, widely popular shows like “Jersey Shore” stereotype Italian Americans under the guise of entertainment, but when groups like the NIAF (National Italian American Foundation) attempt to draw attention to this fact, their point of view is dismissed as too sensitive and too critical. Racial stereotyping will continue as long as it is constantly belittled and viewed as entertaining.

I agree that labels are a necessary part of organizing society and analyzing large groups of people but the problem with labels is when we try to apply generalized labels to individuals based on what we see (e.g. physical appearance). I’ve wondered why we tend to make assumptions about others instead of treating people as the individuals they are. Maybe we have had negative experiences in our past that trigger fear, hence a tendency to jump to conclusions to feel safe (I don’t think many of us honestly fall into this category). Maybe we like the false feeling of control we get by believing we know more about people than we really do. Maybe we like the feeling of superiority that comes from making assumptions about others. Maybe we are just lazy; not wanting to take the time to get to know individuals for who they are. I believe that whatever the reasons that when we stereotype people we ourselves are missing out on expanding ourselves by the contribution they could bring. Showing respect to others benefits everyone.

I appreciate the efforts of the STARS campaign that draws attention to the wrongful exploitation of minority groups on Halloween. People dress up in satirical costumes that reinforce racial stereotypes because it’s perceived to be funny, but this practice only perpetuates prejudice against minorities. Because this is done with the intention of having fun, the seriousness of racial stereotyping and the resulting oppression is undermined. However, the perpetuation of stereotypes through an apparent entertainment value is something that occurs all the time, rather than just once a year on Halloween. For example, widely popular shows like “Jersey Shore” stereotype Italian Americans under the guise of entertainment, but when groups like the NIAF (National Italian American Foundation) attempt to draw attention to this fact, their point of view is dismissed as too sensitive and too critical. Racial stereotyping will continue as long as it is constantly belittled and viewed as entertaining.

when I was growing up the Halloween customs were of cartoon characters, not of ethnic groups.
I wonder if those who are wearing these costumes have inferiority complexes, and are trying to make themselves feel better. Steretyping is a way of dealing with what is not understood, it is also used when fear is present. Our world is very complicated and diverse, and getting more so everyday. We as a country are not taught diversity, we are taught that we are the one and only, the best. Cultural diversity is not taught in our schools, we are taught to believe that everyone wants to be like us, and when someone is not like us the are labeled. These labels can range from wearing glasses (four eyed-freak) to gangsters (black men) and all are damaging. I hope that one day we as a country can let go and let live. We need to learn acceptance and empathy in the hopes of a unified country.

Labels are important to people because it shows a definition of something, although the definition is never very close to the truth. People use labels and stereotypes because they have a lack of knowledge and understanding for certain cultures. Before knowing someone either from your own race and ethnicity or from another race and ethnicity we take into consideration their label. Although, we can not fully understand someone until we take time to get to know them personally. As individuals and a society we can start to educate our citizens about cultural and ethnic diversity. The more cultural competency someone has the less likely they are to discriminate and have prejudices.