Are racial stereotypes actually true at all?
Mike M, I am not dismissing you as racist. But remember that such statistics are taken only for the U.S. They are inapplicable elsewhere. There is no connection between being of a certain race and committing more crimes. Blacks are not more likely to commit crimes in non-developing countries in Africa. It’s the environment American blacks are in, not their race, that is causing the correlation. That being said, I agree with you partially. Generalization is not an evil to be avoided; it’s a sensible way to sort out reality. If I see a group of young black men, it’s only common sense to suppose that they are more likely to attack me than a group of old white women. Stereotypes serve a useful purpose and should not be wholly shunned as long as one is not too zealous about applying them.
Stereotypes come from the truth, but stereotypes do not apply to everyone. I’ll use myself as an example: I am a black female. You probably might know the stereotypes of a black woman: rude, loud, obnoxious, has attitude problems, only dates black men, only listens to hip-hop/r&b, etc. etc. But I am none of those things. I’m actually a very quiet, shy person in real life. I do get an attitude SOMETIMES, but I’m generally a VERY nice person (unless someone says something that pisses me off). As for dating, I’ll date anything with a penis. =) I’ll date any guy of any race as long as he has a good personality. Lastly, my music taste doesn’t consist of hip-hop and r&b ONLY! I don’t like rap music. I like r&b, but it’s not my favorite genre. I love rock, pop, r&b, electronic, metal, etc. I listen to anything that’s pleasing to my ears. =) So you see, I’m not you average black girl. I’m actually what some people call the alternative black girl. And I’m proud of who I am. I don’t care what an
