Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Stereotyping

Please answer the following questions; I would like you to respond to/question one another within your own responses.

Considering our last two lessons on stereotyping, what have you learned about the power of words and the assumptions behind those words? How does this harm you? What can this teach us about tolerance? Will you change any of your language or behaviors as a result of this excercise? Did this excercise give you any new ideas? If so, what are they?

30 comments:

Gracie G said...

I knew that judging people was wrong and I've grown up learning to avoid talking about other people behind their backs, not only because karma sucks, but because if those people had heard what I said about them they would probably be hurt. I think we always forget to watch what we say because we always get caught up in what the other people around us are doing. I think if we stereotype people like we do we could miss out on great friendships and possibly romances. Most of the time I don't often care what other people say about me but on occasion if I hear someone say something about my appearance it hurts me and I dwell on that one thing and I think that everyone sees what that one person sees, that is till I hear something postitive and then I tend to put the negative things away in the corner on my mind. I think I will change my attitude and language towards others because when we were talking in class I actually got to hear what other people think and how sterotyping hurts them and others and it makes you think more when you know what other people have going on in their minds, things I heard made me want to change.

jbarry said...

Words can be powerful things. When people say that actions speak louder than words, they aren't always right. I think that words are more noticeable than actions, and we don't always see the small things that people do, but we always hear the words that they say and that is how we form our opinions. Stereotypes can be funny, serious, hurtful or not effective at all, but I believe that all stereotypes are based in truth. Nobody sees someone and automatically decides to assume something random about them. When stereotypes get ugly is when we apply them to an entire race or group, etc. We should never judge people off of their appearances, income, or other frivolous things of this world, but rather by the kind of person they are. I always try to give people chances, especially when I know that other people have already formed opinions about them; I always want to find out for myself. Through this exercise I really realized that people follow patterns, and these patterns aren't always bad, they're just how the world works. Some people though don't follow the patterns that others around them do, and we need to always be aware that these people are out there. They may be incognito, but it is our responsibility as humans to find out before we falsely judge them.

Erik said...

Words are the most powerful things that we have. they can be used in so many ways and they can do so much stuff. All your life depends on what you say and what you don't say. with words you can create art, build up people or you can even cause the death of people. Words shouldn't be taken slightly. You should never underestimate words and what you can accomplish with them. you should always think before you say something.
With words we have created stereotypes. We have given some base lines to races that aren't always true. With stereotypes we have remarked the bad qualities of some people in that ethnic group or race and set up some baselines on what they are like. To know one is not to know them all. Everyone is different and stereotyping is bad. we have remarked the bad parts because we are intolerant and because we a lot of times don't like things and people that are different from our standards. If we believe in stereotypes in a way we are racists. We don't like those people so we just live around their bad qualities and we don't focus on their good ones.
From now on I will not only try to change the way I talk but also the way I think. I will try to treat everybody fairly and with the respect they deserve. To stereotype is rude and shouldn't be done.

Katie H. said...

I've learned that words are extremely powerful. They spread like wild fire between people, which makes other people believe what is being said. But what's being said isn't always true, and can be harmful to someone else. When we hear something about someone, we assume that its true without really getting to know the person or finding out from the source if it's true or not. It harms us because then people are making wrongful assumptions about us, which can cause people to be mean or not like us because of it. This can teach us that we shouldn't tolerate anything that's being said about someone that we don't know if it's true or not. We should also tolerate other people and really get to know them and who they are before we wrongfully assume things about them. I definately think that i will change some of my behaviors because of this exercise. I wont judge people by their background or the type of clothes they wear or who they hang out with. I will get to know them before i put a label on who they are.

sschacher said...

After learning about stereotyping and the effects it has on people it make realize how harmful some words may be and also how peoples lives are lived through their stereotype. i will definately change the way i talk because i dont want to affend anyone around me. in this world there will always be many different types of stereotypes. there is nothing we can do about it. but what we can do is stop putting other stereotypes down because we think we are better. I think we always forget to watch what we say because we always get caught up in what the other people around us are saying. we shouldnt beinfluenced by what we think is cool or uncoll. to me something may be cool but to someone else it could be the total opposite. i think we we separate our selves from other people becausewe are different then we will miss out on great friends, boyfriends, or girlfriends. if we judge people before we meet them we are missing out. if we only remember the bad things about a person and not the good ones we will never really know and understand that person. we can all and should all have our own personalities, but those personalities shouldnt separate us from someone with a different personality.

Dani H said...

After this exercise, the powers of words are extremely harmful but I believe the power of actions is greater. People talk more trough their body language about stereotyping these days. I agree with Gracie when she says, "others get hurt by the power of words". I believe it is easier to stop stereotyping once you have experienced it yourself or imagine yourself in their shoes. This can harm you in many ways, such as karma, directly, or through a friend. Either way the turn out of stereotyping is harmful to feelings. I also agree with Gracie, that the people who stereotype are missing out on friendships and love, Two of the major happiness’ in life. This teaches us about tolerance is that the less the person has experienced stereotyping the less the tolerant they become. The more people have been stereotyped the more tolerant they become but also more resistant. People start to resist the happiness from the people that create well in their lives. Habits are very hard to change cold turkey but I will defiantly rethink ever action I do. Such as rolling my eyes at an older person just because teenagers stereotype adults as annoying when really they do know what's best. This exercise defiantly showed me that not all stereotyping is bad. For instance African American men in the NBA isn't a bad thing. It is a good thing to be amazing at sports. Though each race, culture, and religion have bad stereotype attacks everyday.

Tiffanyvvv said...

Stereotyping, we have all learned throughout our lives how bad it is and how much it can affect a person but how can we all know the real exposure to stereotyping? In my group we talked about exposure in our lives. Sadly most of the exposure was from the media, and the media exaggerates and makes stereotyping funny. The media makes it ok to stereotype. Even look at the "token" kids on TV shows, it is the typical stereotype of their race, gender, or class. The assumptions and words of stereotyping are powerful; it can defiantly make a difference. The actions taken with words can really make a person feel like an outsider. People don't realize how much just little words or actions can make someone feel. People don’t know until it happens to them. Sadly some people have built a tolerance to stereotyping. I don't think anyone should put up with it but the truth is all you can do is walk away from it and prove to yourself you are not going to live up to that stereotype. This lesson changed how I think of others behaviors and mine because I saw that some people do understand how it can hurt someone. Some new ideas this lesson has given me are that tolerance is needed because some people are naive; they haven't been exposed or have witnessed stereotyping in real life.

Bri R said...

The power of words is astounding, and they can inspire many different feelings, some positive, and some negative. The old saying "sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is not at all true. I have been a victim of another person's words as many other people have. There's no worse feeling than when people who don't know you claim they do, or make assumptions about who you are (usually negative assumptions). We all judge and we all categorize, but we need to learn tolerance and not to be ignorant of others. Did you know that most people sum you up within 8 seconds of meeting you? Because of this exercise, I'm going to try to not categorize people as much, and to not stereotype those different from myself.

JaimeM said...

Talking about stereotypes this week and getting everyone's imput on it made me realize that we all know it goes on, but its one of those topics people just try to avoid. Im not going to lie, i felt a litte weird when we were talking about stereotypes in class, because i associate it with hurtful experiences i have had in the past, and also hurt Im sure i have caused to others. I agree with Erik when he said, "Words are the most powerful things we have." It challenges the saying we have all heard,"sticks and stone may break my bones but words may never hurt me." I dont think that is true at all. I can't remember all of the times I've scraped my knees or gotten hurt physically, but I can vividly remember kids making fun of me and hurting my feelings. It's almost like it gets engraved into your brain and I would never want to make someone feel like that.
Toleration. It is just one word and concept but it means so much. If we could all love one another and accept each person's individuality, life would just be that much better. However impossible this may seem, if you just try, the impact you make might suprise you. Being nice is kind of contagious, even when it's something really small like helping someone do something, or cheering a person up. Most likly they will be in a better mood and try to make someone else's day more positive. Im going to stop saying negative things, and instead try to bring a postive light to people's situations because at the end of the day, we're all going through the same thing.

brynns said...

I try to not let what other people think about other people effect who I hang out with and become friends with. I am the kind of person who likes to find things out on her own. It horrible to realize that some people really cannot stand others, when they don't even know them. New ideas that have come out of these excersises are to learn about people before coming to conclusions. The more knowledge we have on a person, the less likely our conclusions will be so hurtful.

Allie S said...

Words are a very powerful in this world. Jaime brings up a great point with her response to the old saying "sticks and stones may break my bones but words can never hurt me." It is very true that we remember the hurtful things said about us. All our lives we have been taught not to talk behind people's backs. Honestly, I know i have not followed through on this throughout my life. Judging on the activities we did in class, each and every one of us is aware of the prejudice and the stareotypes present in our community. Having said this, we don't necessarily fix them, or stand up for false ones. I will certainly try to change my language and behaviors for the better. I have been the target of stereotyping before and I want to stand up for tolerance. If everyone is tolerant of others we will have a more functional, appreciative society to live in.

Chase K. said...

Words are what make us belive the right, or wrong thing. If the wrong words are said, people could get offended and hurt. Words can uplift someone to supporgt you in what you are saying, or they can hinder you if wrong things are said. In society, I think some wrong words have been said about certain class's genders, and races that have established the stereotypes that exist today.I think that we see all these words as true, so our tolerance for things opposing those stereotypes are hard to agree with. After completeing these exercises and seeing how the world, including me, can be so blind to the world around us. I definetly think I will change attributes about myself because of these lessons.From now on, I will try to see things through the eyes of others so that I can see te truth behind individuals, and not a group as a whole.

Anonymous said...

I have come to learn form this lesson just how powerful words can be. Not only with individuals but for entire races, nations, and genders. Racism itself was founded upon words. Words that taught people to believe that somehow the color of your skin or your place of origin made you any less human than anyone else. These words led to an enslavement of a people and countless deaths, only to come to the realization of what we now know to be true. That ALL of us are created equal, and that we ALL deserve our god given rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. These are the foundations in which our country is built upon, but numerous wars were fought just to defend this idea, and we still face people today who are against it. That is the power of words. That a concept of racism can last through countless generations and spread through a people as though it were a plague. But it isn't only the negative words and ideas that spread like wildfire. We have improved ourselves as a whole through the techings if Jesus, Bhudda, Abraham and Mohammed. If there is one thing I have learned from this lesson, it is that actions speak louder than words. We can say that we believe all people are created equal, but we still apply steryotypes to people at a constant rate. It is only when we can all come to this realization that we can begin to understand what our forefathers had wished all along. Ghandi once said that we need to be the change that we see in the world; and on a personal note I hope to reach the point where I am not associated with steryotypes. The true power of words is that the ideas behind them have the potential to lead to actions; and actions can make all the difference.

addies2010 said...

Words can either be used as weapons or as tools. I think that it really depends on what approach someone is wanting to take, and what effect they are wanting their words to have on people. From these last two lessons, I have come to find that people generally beleive the negative about sterotypes and tend to just discard the positive things. People like to look down on others to make themselves feel better. I also think that people choose to focus on the negative sterotypes about themselves rather than looking at what is good about them, or what is true. I would like to think that now that I have experienced kind of how, shallow I guess, people have become that my language and behavior towards others will change. It probably won't happen right away and might take some effort but I'm willing to work at it.

Anonymous said...

I think that people don't want to be hurt so they judge people before they can judge them and that affects how their relationships grow. I learned that people use stereotypes as their background knowledge to judge someone. They don't consider that this person might be different, they just take the first thing that pops into their head and they don't change how they think about them. Sometimes actions speak louder than words and that's where some people get their ideas and stereotypes about people. That's just something we can't help. I think people are conscious that others are constantly judging them so they try to seem pleasant or act the way they think that person wants them to be like. That's a shame because then no one can really be themselves. It didn't really give me any new ideas that could change how one person looks at another because everyone is constantly going to judge, isn't that why it's called a first impression? Even if you are walking by, it's a first impression. Instead of being considerate, we just always have that first impression burned into our minds.

Kris F. said...

Words can be used for the good of another or can be used for harm. Stereotyping is a harmful way to put down another group of people based on a media view of their strong attributes. Sure many of these stereotypes are based on very successful cultures such as Japanese and video games because most video games are made in Japan so the credits at the end have usually Japanese names. This has led to the belief and stereotype that all Japanese are good with computers and video game when this is not necessarily true. I won't change my language or behaviors as result of this excercise because since a young age most people have been taught that stereotypes were wrong. I do not use them very often and most of the ideas about stereotypes is old news. The few people that heven't been exposed just need to be exposed to the concept of stereotypes, because they do not know it is wrong.

Unknown said...

I can't even begin to explain how strong words can be. I do believe that sometimes actions can be stronger but I think that words do have alot of power. Judging people is so wrong but everyone does it. Even the people being stereotyped do it too. I think it is a natural instinct to judge someone. I believe that people should think before they speak. Alot of people just say what is on their mind and they say rude things without thinking. That is the one thing that bothers me because you can easily avoid that by taking five seconds out of your life to think about what you are about to say. The past lessons we have had on stereotyping has taught me that people can be more than just a jock, nerd, goth etc. There is so much more to people than just how they look and how they talk. Not only do other people need to think before they speak but I know I do too. Even though I will probably judge people I am going to try not to. I am going to try to see what is inside and not what is outside because that is not important.

Abby S said...

During this exercise we all seemed to know that judging and stereotyping is wrong, yet we all admitted that we do it. We called it human nature, if this is what humans have become, its a little disapoitning to be one. Words, powerfull and painful, they can sting anyone. In class we all got to see how different words can affect different people. Words can have a huge affect on self confidence and also on a person in general. I agree with Dani in saying that the best way to stop stereotypical behavior is to experience it for yourself. we never really realize the pain someone is feeling until we have the chance to feel it ourselves.In the future I will definetly watch what I say, I never want to affend anyone or make them feel any lesser of themselves. For me,there will always be neggative comments and hurtful things. The best thing to do is to let them all go. Life is no good if we leave all the bad things cling to us.

Unknown said...

Words influence us to believe many things. They can make us think horrible things about people and issues that are not true. They can bring people down or they can build people up. They are the key to judging people before we get to know them. People see skin types, hair colors, articles of clothing and think they know everything there is to know about that person. But really everyone is different, we all have different personalities, and we all think differently. I know I HATE it when people judge me when they don’t know me, so I try not to judge others. All of this starts with insecurity. When we see someone who looks better than us, or just looks unlike us, we make fun of them, when we should really be trying to see that everyone has their own taste, and their own looks, but that doesn’t make them bad. By judging people, and talking about people, we hurt them and then we can hurt ourselves because we just ruined a possible friendship. Stereotyping is typically bad, but sometimes it’s the truth. Generally African Americans are stronger than whites, so they are the majority in sports.But other than the few truths that stereotyping brings out, it is the thing that causes many fights, and hurts many feelings. Overall, this taught me that we need to get to learn people, and we need to see that we all are different, and that’s how it’s always going to be.

Danielle S said...

I believe that the power of words is the biggest power that human beings have. I think that when people tell you not to always believe what you hear or don’t be offended when someone judges you. But I don’t think it is possible to not have a second thought about the stereotyping. I think this because when someone assumes something about you, they don’t just pull it out of nowhere. There has to be some meaning behind it all. Like when we did the red-neck stereotyping, my group said we think of like hillbillies and farmers. But really, once in the day red necks, mainly worked on farms and owned land. So stereotyping is like taking the truth and turning it around. Taking something that is alright and making it bad. Like when we judge someone, we don’t think about if it hurts them, we think about what we know to assume those things. This then causes people not to like us and people to discriminate because of what they think they know, not what they really know. This teaches us tolerance because we should tolerate everybody until we completely get to know who they are and then make our opinion. We shouldn’t just assume, we should tolerate. I think I am going to be more considerate and open to new opinions about people instead of judging them right away,

Andy I said...

Stereotypes are not often the whole truth or even true. The common message with stereotypes is be careful who you interact with, especially if they are different from you. Race is too broad to make stereotypes from, because there are too many people in such a category. Ideally people shouldn't be judged because everyone was above judgments. People are judged on there appearance, behavior, friends, and attitude. There is a first impression but isn't the only impression that matters, people are always judged and re-observed. However prior to observing and spending time with an individual the only judgment you can make on a person is their stereotype. People are interchangeable, their feelings, thoughts, and experiences may be different but their choices and reactions set them into groups that generally act the same way. That decision is what makes a stereotype. There isn't anything wrong with a stereotype as long as it comes with a load of salt.

ky k. said...

Although many think that words can’t or shouldn’t hurt you they’re wrong, and the saying “sticks and stones can break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” is not true. Some people might be able to just ignore certain comments, but usually there’s a point where it hurts and you can’t let it go anymore. As shown in the article we just read there are usually many assumptions, though many of them not true, that come from past experiences with relating toward that type of person. This harms me because usually athletes aren’t really good at school so that’s one assumption people can make. Another one could be that since our family is pretty well off people may think I’m spoiled, but I work as much if not more than many of my other friends. This can teach us that we need to give people chances like Josh Barry said, and that when people make assumptions about us we should let it go the first time if it’s some sort of stereotypical comment. I will try to not stereotype people before I meet them, and try to get to know them and what they are really like before I make talk about them. Also I will try to let certain assumptions about me go when others meet me, and I will try to make a good impression and be myself.

Dylan L said...

I knew going into the lesson that stereotyping was wrong, and the affect it can have on people. Words are extremely powerful and are often time harmful if used in a negative way. Throughout the stereotyping lessons most of the words used to characterize a certain group or ethnicity were negative. It is sad to see when characterizing another group most people automatically think of the negatives and rarely think about the positives a group has to offer. I personally don’t feel very insulted when people stereotype me without even getting to know me. I could really care less if someone I don’t even know negatively stereotypes me. Everyone is different and shouldn’t be stereotyped based on the people they hang out with, the close they wear, or their ethnicity. You can’t tell a book by its cover. It is important to be able to tolerate the ignorant people who look down on others for no reason. It is extremely important to get to know someone before you start to jump to conclusions about the person. I really feel like I have always been tolerant of other groups or ethnicities, although sometimes I do catch my self stereotyping. After this exercise I am going to try to be more conscious of my thoughts and try not to stereotype at all. This exercise really opened my eyes to all the negative stereotyping that goes on in the world. Everyone is an equal and no one should be looked down upon or stereotyped due to their race, class, or gender.

Elycia O. said...

I noticed that we do get a lot of stereotypes from the media. History set the stereotypes in stone but the media over exaggerates them to the point where people are convinced that they are actually true. I think that stereotypes harm people a lot because they always get judged for who they are without even being able to defend them selves. It seems that it doesn’t matter who you are as an individual it matters what your ethnicity, gender or color is.
I think I will try not to be so stereotypical because it frustrates me when I get judged. It’s one of the worst feelings in the world and people don't deserve it. What goes around comes around and the reason we get judged is because we judge in the first place.

Meg P said...

The power of words is effective to everyone. But, this power is not always a bad one. Words can be used to bring people up and compliment them. But, often they are used to bring others down. I believe that people bring others down to raise themselves up. This is how we are brought up. People often compare themselves to others. We are living one big competition, and to have more confidense than your competitor is a huge advantage. But, how long can this competition go on before it crashes? By bringing ourselves up, people often say things to bring others down. What happened to the old saying, "Treat others the way you want to be treated"? I know I don't want people talking badly about me, so I try not to talk badly about others. It is only fair that until you really know someone, you cannot make assumptions based on what you see. "What you see is not always what you get." You aren't going to love everything about everyone. But, we can learn to accept people the way they are. There are no two people in this world that are exactly the same, so we must focus on the good we see in others, no the bad. I do this now, but maybe I need to remember it more often. I am going to make an effort to focus on the good I see in people and not judge them by what I see. I think that seeing other people succeed helps motivate me. In swimming, seeing friends have good swims or qualify for state gets me excited and helps me perform better. I try to learn from other's successes, not think about what they do worss than me. But, the whole world cannot change this easily. I can be a leader, though, and I will start showing it and hopefully this will impact others.

Lucy P. said...

After doing this exercise, I view the entire process of stereotyping in a different way. The power of words can be overwhelming, although they may seem harmless. Words, when spoken in the right way, have the power to completely destroy a person, as well as completely build their confidence; but it all depends on how you use them. This could be helpful as well as harmful The power to manipulate your words is a dangerous skill, because, without knowing it, you could shatter a person's confidence in themselves. I don't believe that this exercise taught much about tolerance, but understanding. Even though this probably opened our eyes to how we stereotype others, that doesn't mean we will change anything. Judgement is human nature, as is stereotyping others at first glance. The part we DO have control over, however, is how we control those emotions. Although this exercise didn't necessarily encourage tolerance, it definitely will help me to watch my mouth and control what I say.

Marquita T. said...

Stereotyping people is a very bad thing. I have known that for a very long time. Words that people say are very powerful no matter if they are good things or bad. People say stereo typical things all the time even if they aren’t really meaning to say it but it still just comes out. Even I can admit that I say some things that may offend people even though I don’t really mean to. A person being stereotypical doesn’t really harm me much as the person that I am. I mean people say harmful and hurtful things all the time but honestly it just goes through one ear and out the other I try my best for it not to faze me one bit. Are lesson about stereotypes can teach us to really think before we judge people and hold some of our comments to our self, and pretty much just use our heads before we speak out loud because we never know who we are hurting with our words even if we aren’t meaning to. The lesson that we learned will defiantly change the way I think about things and say things about people I know I will still be stereotypical but I will be a lot more smart about the things that I say and listen to about other people.

CodyK said...

I feel like a lot of people talk without thinking about what there saying. Many times people aren’t intentionally trying to be mean but may say something that might be taken in a different way. In my life kids have jokingly made fun of me being Puerto Rican and even tho I know people don’t mean what they say, after awhile it gets annoying. I think since freshman year I’ve really tried to watch what I’ve said, because you never know whose listening. It gave me the idea to stand up more when I hear kids stereotyping, its not fair to people.

Morgan H said...

We have all grown up in a world that has repeatedly said to not stereotype, but at the same time everyone still does it. Through recent activities i have learned that words are stronger than most think. By just seeing a word you totally start stereotyping there. People start jumping to conclusions of a word based on their previous experience. Words are so powerful that they can either bring people up or totally tear someone down. Knowing that we make assumptions based on words is probably one of the biggest harms in our society today, because if we didn't make those assumptions than we wouldn't hurt other, or ourselves. After doing these activities it really opened up my mind, and I realize that some things are not meant to say, and that before I say something I need to make sure that it is a true fact and not just something that I assumed. These activities just gave me a new outlook, and from a different point of view, that I hope I can continue with in the future.

Vivian said...

Stereotyping is something we all do, whether it is consciously or subconsciously, and whether we like it or not. As hard as you may try you can not fully get stereotyping out of your head, it is a part of human beings and completely in our nature. Its tuff sometimes to think about it, and to hear some of the stuff certain people have to say about other people but its just how the world is right now. I certainly try not to stereotype, but I'm not going to go as far as saying I have never stereotyped in my life, because we all have, and that is something I strongly believe, however I feel like the world is getting much better. I know that every time something pops into my head I tell myself that it’s wrong and instantly feel terrible. Perhaps in future generations to come stereotyping will become a part of the past, but as long as parents are passing the bad habits to their children stereotyping will still be a thing of the present.