Stereotypes By Brent Staples

The stereotypes are strongly implied in our lives in many spheres of the people's activities. Racial as well as gender or even age stereotypes can be witnessed at the workplace, on the streets or elsewhere. However, as the history and people's experience evince, stereotypes usually include the ideas and concepts that have no solid and real life basis. In most cases, stereotypes simply prove to be wrong. However, as people, we are highly subjected to the influence of stereotypes everywhere, on the television and radio, in advertising, and simply observing the behavior of people on the streets. Thus, stereotypes have become an unavoidable part of the human nature to which each of us refers in some way.
Due to the strong relation of stereotypes
to our everyday life, they have gained attention of many writers and researchers who aim to say their readers that stereotyping is the practice that we should better avoid. In any situation, if the stereotypes cannot be omitted, we people need to learn how to respond to them correctly. With regards to these responses, there are two categories of possibilities concerning how to react to the stereotyping. As the professor Ira Hyman identifies them in his article, those are ignoring and confronting (Hyman). According to the author, confronting a person, even in a way of friendly confrontation, can decrease the level of stereotypical responses (Hyman). The other way of responding to stereotypes that is implemented through ignoring the issue tends to keep the positive behavior and positive attitude between the people. However, choosing a non-confronting approach might result in the increase of stereotypical comments and would not stop a person imposing racial comments from continuing performing offending people with no reason.
Despite the higher effectiveness of confronting the issue, people usually tend to witness both approaches in the behavior of others in regards to the racial groups that are stereotypically commented. However, ignoring the issue of stereotypical labeling as well as confronting it and trying to lessen the issue are the way of response on the side of people who are stereotyped in the particular situation. In any way, the people who fall into the category of stereotyped ones can also successfully use both strategies to response to racially painted comments and behaviors. These opposing ways of dealing with stereotypes is pictured in the articles by Brent Staples and Alexie Sherman who both had gone through the negative experience of being subjected to stereotypes due to their origin.
Brent Staples, as he mentions in his article, has faced the problem of an unreasonable fear and suspicion that people felt when seeing him on the streets, in the jewelry store, or in the office of a magazine.
The unpleasant cases that occurred to the author have highly influenced his understanding of the issue connected to stereotypes and shaped his behavior. The author chose to use the response approach of ignoring the views and the defending actions of the people whom he met. He writes, “Over the years, I learned to smother the rage I felt at so often being taken for a criminal” (Staples 397). He even started making some attempts of calming down the people he considered were apt to be afraid of him. He kept distance with the people and moved carefully in order to avoid being mistakenly regarded as a criminal. His strategy was implementing the understanding the fear to which other people appeared subjected. Thus, he learned to ignore the stereotypical remarks and views, ignoring them and seeking for the ways to prove people that he is not dangerous without any attempts to confront them and make them feel
uncomfortable.
The opposite approach to responding to the problem of stereotypical thinking is the situation described by Sherman Alexie. He speaks about his Indian origin and the way Indians were perceived in the society. While mentioning that many Indian people tended to subject to the common belief and not to show their skills and knowledge, he chose another response strategy. His behavior towards the stereotypes was rather aggressive and confronting. Alexie writes, “I refused to fail. I was smart. I was arrogant” (17). Instead of simply subjecting to the idea that he was worse and not as smart and intelligent. He devoted much effort to learn and to prove that he also can achieve something despite being of Indian origin. Finally, his confrontation with the stereotypes and stereotypically thinking people came to fruition and he appeared a successful still trying to confront the system of stereotyping and teaching Indian children to reveal themselves as well as their talents.
While the situation has slightly changed since the both authors wrote their essays, there still are signs of racial stereotyping in the society that finds response through both approaches.
While ignoring and accustoming to the stereotypes and confronting stereotypical comments stay major ways to response to and combat stereotypes, confronting the issue has become a most successful way to reduce the amount of racial stereotypes connected comments. This corresponds with the idea of Ira Hyman who considered confronting, especially polite confronting, a positive way to response to negative stereotyping. This can be witnessed in the responses of publicity to the issues concerning racial stereotyping in advertisement, for example. For instance, the advertisement published by the Intel Corporation with the slogan “Multiply computer performance and maximise the power of your employees” contains the racial stereotyping since the employer is pictured as a white person while all of the employees are black (Intel Corporation). The society has negatively reacted to the appearance of this advertisement, and the company had to apologize for such approach. Ignoring this situation would have caused no difference, but confronting the issue and pointing out the mistake was successful strategy of response to the stereotypical
thinking.
In conclusion, responding to stereotypes can be conducted in various ways, major of which are ignoring the issue and confronting with the performer of the action or with an author of a comment. Considering the experience in fighting against stereotypical thinking, confronting the racially painted stereotypical comments proves to be a more effective way in combating racial stereotypes. While ignoring keeps one in peace with the surrounding environment and people, confronting points out the mistake and in most cases decreases the level and amount of stereotypical comments towards people from the minority groups. Therefore, dealing with stereotypes can be more effective if a person chooses not to neglect the situation and to not to stay quiet, but to prove one's point of view and to show that the idea of the person producing such comments is wrong in many aspects.