These days, racism is considered one of the biggest problems in the world.   Ignorance they say is the cause, but maybe the greater ignorance is our refusal to study and better understand what has become a very delicate issue.  I have a hard time believing there are still that many people in Canada that think one race is superior to another.  Is stereotyping being confused with racism?  What if stereotyping was the cause of the majority of acts we considered racist?  What if there was a way to change it?

First we need to understand the difference between the two.  Racism is defined as the idea that one race is superior to another.  Stereotyping is a preconceived notion about a group of people based on an individual’s experience with that group.

What if racism is learned and reinforced through culture and upbringing?  No question, racism was a huge problem in Canada during black segregation back in the 1940’s.  Also a strong example that shows how the power of the cultural environment we grow up in can blind us in the way we think.   On the other hand, what if stereotyping is not learned through culture but rather a natural learning function of the human brain?  I’m not saying racism is still not a problem, but how much of what we consider racist today is actually stereotyping?

Imagine you are walking down a dark secluded street alone.  You hear someone coming up behind you fast.  You turn around to see who it is.  If given a choice, of the two men below, who would you rather it be?

If you said it doesn’t matter, and you are being honest with yourself, congratulations, you are not guilty of stereotyping.  For the rest of us that probably picked the guy on the right, ask yourself, why?  In most cases it comes down to the way they are dressed.  Our brain stereotypes the type of people they are by using limited personal knowledge and experience of the kind of people that dress that way.  But the fact is, the guy on the left could turn out to be the friendliest person you have ever met and the guy on the right could be carrying a gun and out to rob you.  Even if we’re aware that we are stereotyping, most people can’t help feeling more frightened by the guy on the left.  Evidence that shows how stereotyping can reach deep into our subconscious.

Stereotyping doesn’t just apply to how we dress it also can be on what kind of car we drive, our mannerisms, how we talk, where we live, our jobs, practically everything.  There are even forms of accepted stereotyping such as car insurance where premiums are partially based on stereotyping by age, gender, and where we live.

If the human brain stereotypes in so many different areas, is it not logical that it does so with culture?  Most people won’t admit they may still stereotype cultures in fear of being called raciest.  However, try searching “comedians stereotyping” on You Tube.  Comedians, usually of stereotyped minority groups, can still make jokes that would be considered racist and not tolerated coming from anyone else.  Did you laugh?  Does laughing mean you identify with it?

Every country has its own unique culture.  Does our brain actually stereotype against race, or the culture it associates with that race?

If two families from different races and cultures adopted babies from the others race and culture, what stereotypical cultural values would each of them have when they grew up?

Once learned over time, cultural values can take years, even generations to change. Here in Canada, this coupled with a high amount of immigration, helps to bolster cultural stereotyping.  Its not just cultures of foreign countries that are stereotyped,  micro cultures within Canada also exist based solely on demographics.   Whether you were brought up in the country, city, or a specific province, everyone is stereotyped.  The most extreme micro culture is in the bad areas of cities, often with high crime, gangs, drugs and violence.  It is these areas that seem to be the biggest problem with stereotyping culture being confused with race.

So how do we fix it and provide a better equality for all?

Stereotyping itself is bad enough but the greatest injustice happens when someone has prolonged exposure to only a small negative part of a culture and their brain stereotypes it to the entire culture.

For the last 2 years it seems every second night on the news they broadcasted a Muslim terror attack somewhere in the world.  For people that have little or no other contact with Muslim culture it has built up a deep rooted negative stereotype.  Suppose on the news, for the past two years instead of a terrorist attack, they only had stories of the many positive things in the Muslim culture.  Would Muslims have a positive stereotype?  I’m not saying to change the news but to understand the effect it has on people.  What would happen if when the news broadcasted a terrorist attack, they also made a point to also include a positive story on Muslim culture somewhere in the same broadcast?  Would that subconsciously reduce a build up of negative stereotyping?

Law enforcement and stereotyping is also a big problem both within Canada as well as other Countries.  When officers constantly work the same bad micro cultural areas that are predominantly one race,  it’s understandable how a stereotype of that culture can be mistaken with race.  What would happen if they alternated, working one week in a bad micro culture area and the next week in a better micro cultural area containing people of the same race?

Understanding and more research on how the brain stereotypes is key.  The more we understand on how the human brain stereotypes the better the solutions we will come up with to create a more equal and fair society for all.  If stereotyping is shown to be a natural process of the human brain that extends into our subconcious, treating it like racism and calling it ignorance, condemning it and assuming it will go away isn’t the solution.

Dave Lister

listerlogic.com