Anti-Semitism In America

Racism and Anti-Semitism in America Stereotyping reflects expectations and belief about the characteristics of members of groups perceived as different from one’s response and discrimination refers to emotion (www.usnews.com). We all encounter some form of prejudice or stereotype in our life. What types are they? Would you see the lasting affects it has on someone you yourself had discriminated against? Would you recognize the effects it had on you? This author will introduce you to three different stereotypes, fallacious, hasty generalization, and false dichotomy. I will explain the damages being stereotyped does to a person and the lasting effects it has. Aggression, overeating, inability to focus, and difficulty
Conventional approaches to stereotyping assumes that stereotypes are based on erroneous and distorted processes, but others feel that they form in order to explain aspects of social groups and in particular to explain relationships between groups. In particular stereotypes have often been seen as rigid and distorted mental structure that lead people to make serious errors (McGarty et al, 2010). From a social functional point of view race is a social construction, on the one hand it has been a legitimating ideological tool to suppress and exploit specific social groups and to deny them access to material and cultural resources, work, welfare services, housing, political rights, etc. On the other hand, these affected groups have adopted the idea of race. They have turned the concept around and used it to construct an alternative positive self-identity; they have also used it as a basic for political resistance (Miles, 1993:28) and to fight for more antonomy, independence, and participation. There are several forms of stereotyping and prejudice, but I will give you examples of only three. I will explain the stereotype and elaborate on the meanings they present. Fallacious argument is the first stereotype that I will be discussing. A fallacious argument simply means false or not correct, but is usually used to describe someone being
“Since you are so tall I know you can play basketball.” Being a woman of tall statue everyone assumes that I play basketball. All through Jr. High and High School my physical education teachers tried to get me to play ball. The head coach for the girls’ basketball team even tried to get me to leave band which I loved and play ball for her. I forever heard, “as tall as you are I know you can play.” I hated basketball, I still do. I never cared for the sport even when I had to play for physical education class. A person’s height and statue does not mean that they would have a passion for a sport that is loved by others of this statue. Just because I was nearly 6 feet should not have been reason for anyone to feel that I like to play basketball. This argument is false dichotomy. False dilemma thinking or the fallacy of exhaustive hypothesis is a type of logical fallacy that involves a situation in which only two alternatives are considered, which in fact there is at least one additional option. The generalization was made that since I was tall I wanted and liked to play