The Evangelical Universalist Forum

Stereotypes - Why are they bad?

Even if true what exactly should we do about it, after all we are all humans.

I was particularly interested in the “warrior gene” claim, but in my degree program, debate on IQ differences seemed unsettled. Among many pieces, this reflects recent discussion of the question:

Interesting for sure.

Regarding IQ nature vs. nurture, I come down more on the nurture side—which would include spiritual influences.

(Similar “nurture” questions can be asked about what factors promote and maintain a dysfunctional inner-city subculture; for example, both “learned helplessness” and a “victim mentality” are counterproductive lies. And the devil is the father of lies.)

Here are two bright black people–a liberal and a conservative–doing battle against each other in trying to be heard. (Being a conservative, you will know who I agree with):

(Or google “Candace Owens debates Michael Eric Dyson about Donald Trump and narcissism.”)

Gee! We need a song, to help out this thread! :crazy_face:

If that was the case, then you must have ceased stereotyping. When a class of people are stereotyped, they are all “painted with the same brush.”

If you were attacked by various groups of black people, and then stereotyped blacks, you would regard all blacks as dangerous. If you found black friends who were not dangerous, then you must have stopped stereotyping blacks.

Stereotyping is bad because you apply the characteristics of a subset of a group, to the whole group. This is unfair since there is always variation within any group. They’re not all the same, although many affirm that they are.

That’s how I usually understand that term, and so suggested to Gabe, this appears a semantic issue.

This story is from the BBC today. Is stereotyping involved?