On Stereotyping

So today there was yet another social event. It’s an outdoor event being held in the 7osh (or courtyard) of one of my mom’s friends. The good news here is the person organizing it knows me too well. She used to be one of those people who would babysit me when my mom wanted to go somewhere all those years ago. She told my mom, “Tell her to come. And if she can’t handle it, the house is hers, she can go inside and sit on the Internet.”
Thank you!
Now this is the sort of people I love; they understand. So, yes I’m inside now, and it’s blogging time.

Today I find myself thinking of how people are more alike than different and yet they let their differences separate them.
How many times do you look at a person and think they’re more like me than what meets the eye? A lot of times we let our prejudices form our opinions of people. We make judgments based on preconceived notions and other people’s opinions when we should really give them a chance.
Stereotyping is our brain’s way of simplifying matters. You might not think there’s a connection between stereotyping and door handles. But think about this, the first time you learned how to use a door handle to open the door, your brain registered it so now you can figure out how to use different types of door handles without experiencing them individually. The brain process is similar to that used in stereotyping. You meet someone from one nationality and form an opinion that everybody from that country is the same. Which is quite dangerous if you ask me.
It’s better to take people on a case-by-case basis yet that’s quite difficult and that’s why we refrain from doing it. I have to admit that I tend to prejudge a lot. Yet some of my closest friends were people I misjudged at first and upon them I realized we were more alike than different.