Stereotypes

Okay, so I've run into a few racist individuals in my life and what bothers me most is after they make their racist comments, they'll say or write, "I'm not racist." I even read a post not long ago on a website, where a guy wrote about stereotypes, claiming they were funny. He continued on by saying that it's not him and those constantly speaking stereotypical jargon that are racist, but the people who complain about these stereotypes. So, let me get this straight. It's those that don't use stereotypes, derogatory, or discriminatory language, when speaking about people of different backgrounds than they, that are racist. But, those that continually use negative language to label these individuals are not. They are just finding the humor in it all. Ah, yes, that makes perfect sense.

If that is the truth, I could probably use that form of logic in other arenas as well, right? So, since Gandhi and Martin Luther King were anti-violence, does that mean they were the murderers and those who joked about killing were just being humorous? Those who speak out against war are truly violent, but those that joke around about it are in the right? How does this form of logic or reasoning work under any circumstance? It just sounds like a form of denial.

So, when can a person tell if another is truly racist? When that person truly expresses belief that a certain ethnicity is inferior to theirs, on a whole. Just like with individuals, there are generalizations about ethnicities having strengths and weaknesses and that's alright, but when a person just up and says, "So and so can't do anything" or "They're worthless" or anything else that makes it sound as if this group of people isn't good for anything, then that can definitely be classified as racism. What about when one just tells jokes? Ever seen the movie "Guess Who?" with Ashton Kutcher and Bernie Mac? Remember the dinner table scene, where Bernie Mac keeps asking Kutcher to tell some "black jokes?" The first few he tells, Mac and his family laugh. They are light-hearted jokes. But, the last one Kutcher tells points to the stereotype that African-Americans can't get jobs and that didn't garner any laughter out of Bernie and his family. So, when it comes to jokes, try putting yourself in Kutcher's shoes in this situation. If you have to think twice before saying it, then it's probably racist. If you could say it in front of Bernie's family with no hesitation, then it may not be so bad. If your gut or conscience is telling you not to say it, then again, I'd go with the gut. It's probably trying to tell you something.

Stereotypes exist. This we cannot deny. Just because a person doesn't use them much and doesn't laugh at ethnic jokes does not mean they're racist. They're just trying to be courteous, considerate and respectful. As they should, because even though there are bad eggs in every group, we can't let a component outweigh the whole. The whole is larger than the component and the whole deserves our courtesy, consideration and respect.