Stereotypes
Unfortunately, stereotypes surround
us all. Whether they are stereotypes that others make about us or ones that we
make about other individuals, there are times when snap judgments are made
about others based on race, sex, sexual orientation, religion, or any other
number of reasons. Personally, I have both been the victim of unfair
stereotyping as well as the individual making snap judgments of others based on
stereotypes. Though stereotyping is a terrible reality, we can take these
thoughts, create and argument, and determine their flaws.
Recently, I have realized that I
have been stereotyping those around me. I am from Delaware and I am of a mixed
race, Dominican and White. When I moved to Georgia, I had it in my mind that
people, specifically White people, were racist. I did not assume that every
single White person was racist though, I did think that I would encounter more
than I did when I was in Delaware.
Through this belief that White
people would judge me based on my race I, in turn, stereotyped them. Before
giving people an opportunity to show me who they were I thought that they might
have negative feelings toward me. The reason that seemed to compel these
thoughts in me most was the fact that slavery was accepted for a longer period
in the south.
Essentially, the weak argument that
I had created in my mind would have gone as follows: Slavery lasted longer in
the South than in the North. Slavery was a way that White people kept down
those that were not White. Since slavery was accepted longer in the South,
there are probably more people there that still believe it should exist. I
believe that slavery is a form of racism. Therefore, the White people in the
South must be more racist than those in the North.
The above argument is flawed. The
fallacy that most stands out to me when I reread it is that of hasty
generalization. “...Hasty generalization is committed when the conclusion is
based on insufficient information...” (Mosser, 2011, section 4.2). I
generalized what would have been a group of people that pushed to maintain
slavery and incorporated it with the entire group of Southern White people. The
arguments flaws came to light since I have lived here because I have met many
White people that do not fit the mold that I had created for them at all.
Additionally, the commits the false dichotomy
fallacy, “...the fallacy of “black and white” thinking” (Mosser, 2011, section
4.2). I labeled slavery as racist and I assumed that if you supported such a
thing that you must have been racist. However, logical thinking reveals a grey
area. I know that people are raised to believe certain things but they can
change their minds. A person that previously believed in slavery may truly not
know any better. This is what they were raised to see as right and they are not
necessary using it as a personal attack against other races.
Again, an argument can be created
based upon this information and it might go like this: I am familiar with
Puerto Ricans and Mexicans. The rest of the people that call themselves
Hispanic or Latin speak Spanish. They seem to look the same. Therefore, all
Hispanics must be either Puerto Ricans or Mexicans.
Similar to the previous argument,
this one commits the hasty generalization fallacy. A conclusion is made about a
large group of people based on little to no knowledge about the individual that
is being grouped. In this argument, a very large number of people are
classified and grouped into two categories due to lack of knowledge.
In conclusion, though stereotypes
surround us, we can look at each argument and determine its validity. As shown
through the three examples in this paper, there are ways to determine the flaws
of arguments presented for stereotypes. We have the tools necessary to look at
these situations and make our own difference in correcting them.
Reference
Mosser,
K. (2011). Logic: An Introduction. Bridgepoint Education: San Diego, CA.
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