Stereotypes abound.  We all tend to fall prey to their ways, because our big brained, newly evolved primate ways do not allow us to know what goes on in our unconscious minds most of the time.  We may realize that a young black man is not out to steal our wallet, but we unknowingly cross to the other side of the street when we see one approach. We do not want to sit next to that old man on public transport because he will be grumpy, or we do want to sit next to that well groomed man in the designer suit because he is probably a “rich and gallant gentleman”.

Stereotypes exist because there is some amount of truth to generalization, but there is just as much falseness, and we are much too otherwise distracted in our workaday, trilling lives, to take the time to piece out the important details.

Here are ten very common, but not well thought out stereotypes:

Blacks are more likely to be anti-social, violent, or intent upon crime and revenge. They are more likely to be physical, and less likely to be cerebral.

Women are vamps, out to get men for their money. Women use sex, rather than enjoy sexuality. Women want to entice and tease with their bodies, and then call “foul” when a guy won’t take no for an answer. Women are not as smart as men.  They are not safe drivers. They are weaker. Men make better business and finance decisions. Men are strong because they show little emotion. Women make better nurturers, men make better mechanics.

Gay people are either very effeminate, for homosexual men, or butch and manly, for lesbian women.  They have no family values. They do not find sexuality sacred, but are promiscuous instead.  Gay men love musicals, decorating, fashion, and gossip. Gay women are anti social, and usually femin-Nazis, the derogatory term for feminists.

Latin, and Romance language people are loud, and gesticulate wildly. They are obsessed with sex and death, and when they are not fighting, or seducing, they are eating and drinking.

There are stereotypes that say old people are grouchy, and will complain endlessly about health issues. People assume that the “grays” don’t surf the internet, or drive, or even have sex lives.

Jewish people are stereotyped as being obsessed with saving money and finance. They own Hollywood. They are all kind of whiny and wimpy.  Jews are thought of as being rich far more often then they actually are, and having more power than they have ever had.

Muslim people are under constant scrutiny. Although variations of their religion are as common as variations in Christianity, Muslim people are not thought of as having these variables.  If you think a Barbados Catholic, and an evangelical Baptist, and a Quaker living in Oregon can all be lumped together as potential terrorists, one begins to get a sense of how unreasonable it is to lump all people of Islam together as terrorist zealots.

Let’s look at Mexicans for a moment. Are they lazy, shiftless, and seriously lack ambition?  If so, why are they the ones risking life and limb to live the American dream. And what about all of the Mexican Americans who are here every bit as legally as anyone else?

Northern borders are not so fanatically guarded.  That is because we all tend to think of Canadians as super nice, super white, super neutral, and super non threatening. We forget that there are Asians, natives, and people of every other skin tone and genetic origin living in Canada. It’s a big country.

Now let us look at people who have public “entitlements.” Much is made of Welfare queens and people who are too lazy to work, so they live off entitlements. What is not so much questioned, is that our tax dollars subsidize billionaires, at least as much, and for less public good. 

On the other side of the spectrum are rich people and celebrities. We prop them up and then act scandalized when they turn out to be human.  Preferential treatment, even adoration is lavished upon some, and then we are surprised when they take advantage of their power.

Sadly, stereotyping becomes prejudice, and even class warfare, racism, sexism, and war in the long run.  In the end, at the climax of this kind of xenophobia, we have holocausts, dictators, terrorism, and horror of our own humanity.

We are comfortable with the familiar. It is not that we are bad beings, inherently, but that we unknowingly will favor that which we know, recognize, and appreciate. This is to our detriment, because new cultures, new ways, new genes, and new intelligence always, in the ultimate melting pot of society add new strengths.

On one extreme we have a complete carbon bias, thinking that carbon based life forms are worth protecting if an alien species were to decide to conquer and take our resources.

On the other extreme, we think a blonde and blue eyed baby is preferable to this slightly darker one.  In between, there are people who think people are superior to other life forms, and people who think that some other planet out there is just as important to God and/or creation as we are.