Racial Stereotypes Only Send A Negative Message To The Society

We encounter stereotypes in our everyday lives. It is very common for people to find themselves in a situation where they are being stereotyped. We also often place ourselves in situations where there are discrimination, racial prejudice, and racism. We live in a world where it is normal for people to be labeled by their ethnicity, color, and gender. Due to stereotypes, many people in places such as schools, malls, or even on the streets face discrimination. When we see a Muslim person, who is covered in a burqa, we simply think of not wanting to walk close to that person because they are often seen as a threat. Behaviors like these cause racial stereotypes in the society which eventually causes racial prejudice among those people. While some argue that stereotypes are necessary for making assumptions about certain groups of people, this is simply not true; stereotypes often send a negative message to the people and make us ignore differences between individuals.

When we stereotype people of different ethnic group, we assume that he or she might share a common classification trait which makes them essentially alike because of their race. Because of this, we often overlook their individuality. For example, when Muslim women wear a hijab in the public, we simply assume that this person is a threat to the society. It is wrong for people to assume that a person is a terrorist if they are wearing a traditional hijab or burqa to cover themselves in public as it is part of their Islamic tradition. Although many people argue that every Muslims should be punished because they have been responsible for the 9/11 attack in some way, I disagree.

Today, when we hear about terrorist’s attack, we often blame every Muslim in the Islamic society, and then label them as the people who are known for destroying many innocent lives. Many people do not see the peaceful side of Islam, and because of this, we misinterpret their religion. 9/11 was the worst attack in the history of the United Sates; however, this should not imply that every Muslim in this world should be blamed for this action that took places many years ago. Due to the lack of understanding one’s background and culture has lead us to stereotype many groups of people from the same ethnic group. It is because of these stereotypical comments that leads us to hatred towards Muslims in America. Asians are also stereotyped because they are considered naturally smart; however, stereotypes like these may not be very flattering, as they can send negative message to Asians that are not considered “smart” by other people. This is usually because they do not excel in subjects such as math or science, or their area of expertise lies outsides of STEM careers. Due to this problematic behavior, they are not labeled as “Real Asians.” Stereotypes like these can encourage anxiety in one’s performance. As a consequence, stereotypes can only hinder our success and lead us to underestimate people of certain race.

Even when it comes to standardized tests such as the ACT, SAT, or the GRE, students are often asked to identify their race before taking the exam, and because of this, students are often stressed about these issues as it centers in their mind. Since we often make false assumptions about certain groups of people, we hinder them from expressing themselves to the public. Even though one might argue that not all stereotypes have a negative connotation, this generalization is not valid. Stereotypes have caused a misconception between people which have allowed certain people to perform poorly in certain activities after being exposed to offensive comments.

Moreover, many stereotypes result in racial prejudice and violence, and they often lead, in extreme cases to genocide. An example of this has been shown in the past when African-Americans were forced to ride in the back of the bus, or when Japanese-Americans were isolated in camps during World War II. Those who did not obey the rules often resulted in massacre, killing numerous people along with an ethnic group, and even then, genocide is very common in most countries. Therefore, stereotypes like these can be prevented if we do not assume certain characteristics for certain races.

Despites these issues, we still fail to realize the inequality of certain people that are treated differently because of their skin color or ethnicity; each one of us should be treated fairly and deserves to be considered a unique human. While many people believe that spreading stereotypical comments helps the world to be more aware if the society, it only makes the situation worse. Comments that are offensive to certain race have a huge impact in certain countries around the world that can lead to discrimination, increasing racial prejudice around the world. In Addition, social media has also played a major role in the society for making certain stereotypical comments about certain races. Many examples of have been shown in social media where they depict Muslims as terrorists, African-Americans as criminals and immigrants as people who are known as stealing jobs from American citizens. Examples like these have lead us to a fixed mindset that is wrong because it sends a negative message to the society.