fareStereotyping

Stereotyping

S

ome sociologists

study the effects of the idea of “race” on

human behavior.

They

also

explore the impact of

ethnicity.

An

ethnic

group

is

a

distinctive

group

of

people

within

a

country.

Members share a cultural heritage. Ethnicity can be the basis for

feelings

of

pride

and

solidarity

[,s

?

li'd?riti]

团结

.

But,

like

race,

it

can also be the basis for prejudice and discrimination.

The

word

prejudice

comes

from

the

word

pre-judge.

We

pre-judge when we have an opinion about a person because of a

group

to

which

that

individual

belongs.

A

prejudice

has

the

following characteristics.

1. It is based on real or imagined differences between groups.

2. It attaches values to those differences in ways that benefit

the dominant group at the expense of minorities.

3. It is generalized to all members of a target group.

Discrimination

occurs

when

prejudices

are

translated

into

action.

For

example,

a

person

who

says

that

all

Mexicans

are

lazy

is

guilty

of

prejudice,

but

one

who

refuses

to

hire

a

Mexican is

guilty of

discrimination. Not all

prejudices result in

discrimination.

Some

are

positive.

But,

whether

positive

or

negative,

prejudices

have

a

similar

effect

-

they

reduce

1

individuals

to

categories

or

stereotypes.

A

stereotype

is

a

judgment

about

an

individual

based

on

the

real

or

imagined

characteristics

of

a

group.

Joseph

H.

Suina,

a

professor

of

education

and

a

member

of

the

Cochiti

Pueblo,

recalls

the

effects stereotyping had on his behavior in the Marines.

From the moment my

comrades in the

military

discovered

I

was an Indian, I was treated differently. My name disappeared. I

was

no

longer

Suina,

Joseph,

or

Joe.

Suddenly

,

I

was

Chief,

Indian,

or

Tonto.

Occasionally,

I

was

referred

to

as

Geronimo,

Crazy Horse or some other well-known warrior from the past. It

was almost always with

an

affection that

develops in

a family,

but clearly, I was seen in the light of stereotypes that my fellow

Marines from around the country had about Native Americans.

Natives were few in the Marine Corps. Occasionally, I

’

d run

across

one

from

another

battalion.

Sure

enough,

just

like

me,

each

of

them

was

“

Chief

”

or

“

Indian.

”

Machismo

is

very

important

in

the

Corps

and

names

such

as

Chief

and

Crazy

Horse

were

affirmations

of

very

The

Individual

and

Society

desirable

qualities

for

those

entering

combat

situations.

Good

warriors,

good

fighting

men,

we

were

to

be

skilled

in

reading

the

land,

notable

for

our

physical

prowess,

renowned

for

our

2

bravery

.

In

addition,

we

were

to

drink

to

the

point

of

total

inebriation or to

be in the midst of a

barroom

brawl

before the

night

was

over.

Never

permitted

to

assume

leadership,

but

always in the role of supportive and faithful companion, just like

the Lone Ranger

’

s Tonto.

Personally

,

I

was

anything

but

combatant,

and

my

experiences with alcohol had been limited to two or three beers

prior

to

my

enlistment.

Never

in

my

wildest

dreams

had

I

imagined that I would be accorded the characteristics of a noble

and

reckless

warrior.

Since

these

traits

were

held

in

such

high

esteem,

I

enjoyed

the

status

and

acceptance

they

afforded

me

among the men. My own platoon commander singled me out to

compete

in

a

rope-climbing

event

at

a

regimental

field

meet.

After

I

easily

won

that

contest

(my

Pueblo

life

had

included

a

great deal of wood chopping), my stature as chief increased.

I

actually

began

to

believe

that

I

had

those

qualities

and

started behaving in accord with the stereotypes. Later during my

two

tours

of

duty

in

Vietnam,

I

played

out

my

expected

role

quite well. I went on twice as many search and destroy missions

as others; I took

“

the point

”

more often than anyone else. After

all,

couldn

’

t

I

hear, see, smell,

and react to signs of the

enemy

3

better

than

any

of

my

comrades?

On

shore

leave,

I

learned

to

drink with the best of them and always managed to find trouble.

Almost a full year beyond my four years of enlistment, I was

recovered from my second set of wounds and finally discharged.

I

had

earned

two

purple

hearts,

a

bronze

star,

the

Gallantry

Cross

(Vietnam’

s

highest

military

award),

and

numerous

other

combat expedition medals. I also had, on my record, time in jails

in Japan, the Philippines, and Mexico.

Over twenty years later, Jeanne Park, a student at Stuyvesant

High

School

in

New

York

City,

had

a

similar

experience

with

stereotypes.

Who am I?

For

Asian-American

students,

the

answer

is

a

diligent,

hardworking and intelligent

young person. But living up to this

reputation has secretly haunted me.

The labeling starts in elementary

school.

It

’

s not uncommon

for

a

teacher

to

remark,

“

’

re

Asian,

you

’

re

supposed

to

do

well

in

math.

”

The

underlying

message

is,

“

You

’

re

Asian

and

you

’

re supposed to be smarter.

”

Not to say

being labeled intelligent isn’

t flattering, because it

is, or not to deny that basking in the limelight of being top of my

4

class

isn

’

t

ego-boosting,

because

frankly

it

is.

But

at

a

certain

point, the pressure became crushing. I felt as if doing poorly on

my

next

spelling

quiz

would

stain

the

exalted

reputation

of

all

Asian students forever.

So

I

continued to be

an academic overachiever, as were my

friends. By junior

high school

I started to

believe

I was indeed

smarter.

I

became

condescending

toward

non-Asians.

I

was

a

bigot; all my friends were Asians. The thought of intermingling

occurred rarely if ever.

My

elitist

opinion

of

Asian

students

changed,

however,

in

high

school.

As

a

student

at

what

is

considered

one

of

the

nation’

s most competitive science and math schools, I found that

being on top is no longer an easy feat.

I

quickly learned that

Asian students were

not smarter. How

could

I

ever

have

believed

such

a

thing?

All

around

me

are

intelligent, ambitious people who are

not only

Asian

but white,

black and Hispanic.

Superiority

complexes

aside,

the

problem

of

social

segregation still exists in the schools. With few exceptions, each

race socializes only with its

”

own kind.

”

Students

see

one

another

in

the

classroom,

but

outside

the

5

classroom there remains distinct segregation.

Racist lingo abounds.

An

Asian

student who socializes only

with other

Asians is

believed to be an

Asian

Supremacist or, at

the very least, arrogant and closed off. Yet an Asian student who

socializes

only

with

whites

is

called

a

“

twinkie,

”

one

who

is

yellow on the outside but white on the inside.

A white teenager who socializes only with whites is thought

of

as

prejudiced,

yet

one

who

socializes

with

Asians

is

considered

an

“

egg,

”

white

on

the

outside

and

yellow

on

the

inside.

These

culinary

classifications

go

on

endlessly,

needless

to

say

, leaving many confused, and leaving many more fearful than

ever

of

social

experimentation.

Because

the

stereotypes

are

accepted almost unanimously, they are rarely challenged.

Many

develop

harmful

stereotypes

of

entire

races.

We

label

people

before we even know them.

Labels learned at a young age later metamorphose into more

visible

acts

of

racism.

For

example,

my

parents

once

accused

and

ultimately

fired

a

Puerto

Rican

cashier,

believing

she

had

stolen

$$200

from

the

register

at

their

grocery

store.

They

later

learned it was a mistake. An Asian shopkeeper nearby once beat

6

a

young

Hispanic

youth

who

worked

there

with

a

baseball

bat

because he believed the boy to be lazy and dishonest.

We all hold misleading stereotypes of people that limit us as

individuals

in

that

we

cheat

ourselves

out

of

the

benefits

different

cultures

can

contribute.

We

can

grow

and

learn

from

each

culture

whether

it

be

Chinese,

Korean

or

African-American.

Just

recently

some

Asian

boys

in

my

neighborhood

were

attacked

by

a

group

of

young

white

boys

who

have

christened

themselves the

Master Race. Rather than

being angered by this

act, I feel pity for this generation that lives in a state of bigotry.

It

may

be too late for our

parents’

generation to accept that

each

person

can

only

be

judged

for

the

characteristics

that

set

him or her apart as an individual. We, however, can do better.

CONNECTIONS: In 1993, the Los Angeles Times printed an

interview

with

a

group

of

teenagers

on

their

use

of

stereotypes.

A

high-school

freshman

told

the

reporter,

“I

7

don’

t

mean

to

stereotype

but

sometimes

I

judge

people

by

first

impressions.

Once,

I stereotyped a white girl

because

I

thought she was acting black to make friends. Once I got to

know

her,

I

learned

she

was

a

sweet

person

and

that

she

acted

the

way

she

did

because

she

had

grown

up

around

blacks.

That changed

my

mind.”

How

is a stereotype

like a

first

impression?

How

is

it

different?

How

do

stereotypes

affect relationships at your school? At home? On the street?

How

do they affect the way

you see yourself?

The

way you

view others?

8