Is it OK to use stereotypes?
Imagine the place you live but hundreds of years ago, probably you would be farming or something like that, imagine you have a garden where you plant some vegetables and imagine your ancestors taught you how to take care and seed your garden, let's set the moment and imagine the way people used to live in the region you are.
Now let's imagine you see some strange looking people, strange for you because it is not strange at all; they just moved right next to you, the most logical thing to do is to pay attention to the the differences you have as well as the things you have in common. One day you see your new neighbors seeding in a very different way, they are also wearing a very different thing to protect themselves from the sun, they wear different clothes, they just look different to what you are used to. Imagine you get home or to the place you regularly meet with your friends and tell them about your new neighbors, how would you describe them? Probably based on the way they look, the way they talk and so on. Imagine one of your friends has a new neighbor and describes it exactly like your neighbor, this creates an image in common between you and your friend based on common things both your neighbors have. We can call this a stereotype.
Us humans have always liked to name thing resembling to the way they look, not always but many times. In Mexico, for instance, the inhabitants tend to use nicknames to refer each other, this nicknames vary from being inoffensive to being considered, in other places, like bullying. "El gordo" (like fatty or the fat one) is commonly heard between friends and family.
They exist because they exist, they are not necessarily bad.
That's why stereotypes work for commedians and that's why they are true in our lives.
They don't represent necessarily an entire sector but represent a percentage.
Is this wrong? Is it OK to get offended?
I don't think so, it is absurd. If people get offended by this is not because of the words they hear, it is because of the sentiment, the feeling behind those words and in that sense, is absurd to get angry or depressed about them.
I remember when I was a child that people always told me that sticks and rocks can break my bones but words are blown with the wind.
Character is built by the good and bad moments we go through and stopping people from learning this just make them weaker when they face the real world. Besides, freedom of speech is a fair right, you can hear good things you like but also things you don't like and that you may think they can hurt you but words can't hurt any one.
The way to overcome this is the one given by nature, to be stronger and better than the people who made fun of you. In the end, and it takes us quite some time to realize this, differences don't matter. What matters is what you are, what really matters is you and nobody can change what you are except for yourself.
So let's grow and change the words we use to refer to each other but not because it is wrong or politically correct but because it is better to treat each other like we want to be treated.
Now let's imagine you see some strange looking people, strange for you because it is not strange at all; they just moved right next to you, the most logical thing to do is to pay attention to the the differences you have as well as the things you have in common. One day you see your new neighbors seeding in a very different way, they are also wearing a very different thing to protect themselves from the sun, they wear different clothes, they just look different to what you are used to. Imagine you get home or to the place you regularly meet with your friends and tell them about your new neighbors, how would you describe them? Probably based on the way they look, the way they talk and so on. Imagine one of your friends has a new neighbor and describes it exactly like your neighbor, this creates an image in common between you and your friend based on common things both your neighbors have. We can call this a stereotype.
Us humans have always liked to name thing resembling to the way they look, not always but many times. In Mexico, for instance, the inhabitants tend to use nicknames to refer each other, this nicknames vary from being inoffensive to being considered, in other places, like bullying. "El gordo" (like fatty or the fat one) is commonly heard between friends and family.
That's why they exist, it's the first thing we notice.
That's why stereotypes work for commedians and that's why they are true in our lives.
They don't represent necessarily an entire sector but represent a percentage.
Is this wrong? Is it OK to get offended?
I don't think so, it is absurd. If people get offended by this is not because of the words they hear, it is because of the sentiment, the feeling behind those words and in that sense, is absurd to get angry or depressed about them.
I remember when I was a child that people always told me that sticks and rocks can break my bones but words are blown with the wind.
Character is built by the good and bad moments we go through and stopping people from learning this just make them weaker when they face the real world. Besides, freedom of speech is a fair right, you can hear good things you like but also things you don't like and that you may think they can hurt you but words can't hurt any one.
The way to overcome this is the one given by nature, to be stronger and better than the people who made fun of you. In the end, and it takes us quite some time to realize this, differences don't matter. What matters is what you are, what really matters is you and nobody can change what you are except for yourself.
So let's grow and change the words we use to refer to each other but not because it is wrong or politically correct but because it is better to treat each other like we want to be treated.
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