The difference.

Today's post I want to discuss the difference between being racist and stereotypes. Lets first talk about the definitions of these two words.

1.) Racist- a person with a prejudice belief that one race is superior than the other.

2.) Stereotypes- a widely held but fixed and oversimplified image or idea of a particular type of person or thing.


See the difference? Being racist means that a person believes that one race is better than the other based off of their color. Also the person may hate a certain race because of another races color. Stereotypes are ideas of certain types of people and things. Some examples are "White people can't jump" or "Black people can't Swim." Its been proven that 60% of Stereotypes are based on facts. That is not saying that all white people can't jump or all black people can't swim. Its saying that the majority cannot. Also its not only white and black people but its all races that are involved in this.

Here is another example. Lets say two men are walking on the same sidewalk but are walking towards one another. Both of them could be different races or the same but one of them looks rough, sorta like a thug. Upon spotting the rough looking man the other man walks across the street to the other sidewalk to avoid coming into close proximity of the rough looking man. The man avoiding the other could be considered racist but also he could be stereotyping the rough man. It all depends on weather or not you know what the man's thoughts were and his actions. If someone looks like a thug, walks like a thug, brings off a vibe like one, and it doesn't matter about race, isn't it logical to avoid that person?  I say it is logical because what if that person is a thug and he plans on hurting you. Would you want to figure out the hard way and risk getting hurt or worse?


The reason I post this is because I hear all the time that someone is considered racist because of their actions or words. When really all they are doing is stereotyping. Stereotyping can be just as bad but it also can help just like the example I typed up about the two men on the sidewalk. Take time to analyze what someone says or does because you may be assuming someone is racist when their not.