Emperor Fish

Fred, stereotypes can be just as positive as negative and do not necessarily distort at all. For example:

1. Fat people are jolly, Germans are efficient, black people are athletic, Italians are passionate, Americans are hard-working, English are stylish, blondes have more fun, Japanese are team workers.

Read again:

2. Fat people are unfit, Germans are stiff, black people are lazy, Italians are corrupt, Americans are culturally castrated, English have rotten teeth, blondes are dumb, Japanese are indoctrinated robots.

Unfortunately for you and others, there is a growing level of research that suggests that stereotyping is a useful (and usually accurate) tool. Also, that stereotypes evolve as cultures and nationalities change. For example, in the 18th century, Italians considered the English to be the passionate ones!

Now, if I were to say that bonsai is done by old men, that would be stereotyping. However, it does not necessarily mean that I think that ALL bonsai enthusiasts MUST be old men. Stereotyping is about probability. The probability is that a bonsai enthusiast will be older, rather than younger. The probability is that a bonsai enthusiast will be a man. Any arguments here?

Let's take a couple of my positive stereotypes so as not to upset anyone:

1. Germans are efficient. A commonly held stereotype. Does this mean that it is inaccurate? No, quite the opposite. For some time the Germans have had a very high GDP output per worker, significantly higher than the US.

2. Americans are hard working. Another commonly held stereotype. Untrue? No, again the opposite. Americans take significantly less time off work than Europeans.

Damn, those stereotypes can be true after all. (On average, and in the main). They may help us to make sense of our very confusing world and (I suspect) that their origins are rooted in our need to generalise risk to survive.

Just a different take on the subject.

Regards,

Fish.

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