"Dumb Jokes", "Women don't belong in a professional setting, they belong in kitchen," "He must be a Jew, just look at his nose." If people don't hear these statements everyday, I am most certain that they hear them very often in our lives. Our own beliefs and principles are generally nurtured by the environment around us, in which we are brought up. Our society governs our perception about others. Often these ideologies and theories are not shared by others, which is why our view might seem implausible and untrue to others. Inaccurate interpretations and conclusions of other sometimes can be very harmful in nature.
We see such behavior in the story "Sonny's Blue", by James Baldwin, which takes place in Harlem New York. This story shows us that making assumptions are not the right way to approach someone, and inadequate opinion and judgment about other can also act as a psychological lubricant on someone's behavior.
English: Looking south from Top of the Rock, New Y...
Sign outside the Atlah church in Harlem, New York
United StatesSuch inaccurate opinions and interpretations are called stereotyping. Stereotyping is solely based on the face values where we tend to place others in a category, because of their action. It is very clear in "Sonny's Blue's" that Sony has to face a hard life, because no one has faith in him, and even his own brother doesn't support his career choice. It is also clear that once he finds support of this brother, his life makes a pleasant turn.
I never noticed or felt stereotyping, because I always ignored the problem. I always looked at our society as a melting pot, where everyone has equal rights and equal opportunity. But recently, I have looked at this concept clearly and found out that probably our society is a "melting pot" by numbers, but society that statement is an embarrassment. I've always been a very positive...