When broken down to its least common denominator, when distilled down to its most basic characteristics, I find that we ALL are forced in life and by life to make quick assessments of those around us with whom we come into contact that we do not know. In all such cases, we have to quickly decide who poses a potential threat and who might best be trusted or at least not cause us immediate concern.
Can I trust this person over the counter with the personal information they are requesting? Can I believe the person on the TV talking about some new product or service? Do I let this person into my home, my life, my heart and/or my bed? And on and on and on...
We are all forced in life to have to make quick and snap judgments and decisions regarding how others are perceived and what might best be surmised and summarized regarding them... and often with little to no other information than their appearance, their speech and how they are acting.
And regardless whether anyone here wishes to be told this or not... all of this requires some degree of stereotyping and making judgmental generalizations. No, not because we would prefer it this way... but because in today's world where anything and everything is being flung at you constantly, we simply don't have the time to stop everything, step back, collect all the facts and figures and then thoughtfully evaluate it all and arrive at a knowledgeable assessment (threat or otherwise) of the person or people in question.
No... I'm not defending stereotyping; I'm simply pointing out that we all are required to stereotype to some degree on a daily basis with people we meet that we otherwise do not know.
And how do we make such judgments? Understandably, we look at what is comfortable and pleasant in our own lives and compare the unknown factor (e.g., other person/people/situation/environment) to it. Does this person look or act or react as do I or as do those with whom I am familiar and find pleasant?
And, of course, the opposite is true, too! If we have have had negative experiences with certain types of people or surroundings, we will tend to "stereotype" negatively those that in the future resemble such.
To my view, in the smallest of "nutshells," this pretty much both explains and predicts how we all view and "judge" unfamiliar people and surroundings. This explains why we tend to view others of different appearance, views and actions as less trustworthy ... simply because they are less known.
Again... don't equate my explanatory distillation of this form of basic initial stereotyping as a defense for perpetuating such stereotyping, thereafter. While such instinctual self-preservational snap assessments and judgments are necessary when faced with new situations and people, the problem comes when we allow such initial stereotyping to become our primary means of evaluating others, thereafter.
As logical and hopefully empathetic people (obviously the arrogant and narcissistic among us never rise to this level of self development), we learn in life that such is unfair and unjust. A "book" cannot be properly judged based on its "cover" and that if exposure to and around another unfamiliar person reveals that there is no threat and that perhaps the intiial pre-judgment was incorrect, then we ought to explore beyond our instinctual reactions and enjoy what we discover of this new person or environment... despite its being new and unfamiliar. At some point, once we realize that there are EXCEPTIONS to our pre-judgments, we will begin to explore those exceptions and develop our powers of discernment and perception of others and the greater unknowns beyond.
Anyway... those are a few of my thoughts on the subject.
- Upir'
