Stereotypes, Profiling and Prejudice; A Prelude to Black History Month
Role-playing is a part of our lives. Americans are used to it. There was an entire session devoted to teaching us how to change roles quickly and completely in the Dale Carnegie Course I took back in 1978. At the time, I had a wife, two small kids and a job. Throughout the day I had to change roles frequently. Daddy, husband, gardener, mechanic were all different duties around the house. At work, doing my specific job wasn’t enough. At times I was a counselor, cashier, stock boy, janitor, and pharmacist. It’s hard to avoid letting one role interfere with another.
Often, our societies and cultures assign us roles. Many times those assignments are based entirely on the color of our skin, our ancestry, where we live, or our religion. As the general public becomes familiar, those assignments morph into stereotypes. How we respond, of course, varies. In 1650, George Fox mentioned in his journal that his religious sect was ridiculed because they would “tremble at the word of God.” Over time, The Society of Friends embraced their stereotype and now everyone knows about the “Quakers”.
Emphasize, or over-emphasize an aspect of a subject and you have a caricature. One example that comes to mind would be a drawing of Jay Leno with an overly large bottom jaw. Archie Bunker was a character whose popularity and acceptance turned out to be the antithesis of his creator’s intent. According to Wikipedia, “Norman Lear was shocked when Bunker quietly became a beloved figure to much of Middle America.” Meant to be a parody of right wing bigotry, the caricature of Archie Bunker actually represented the mindset of many viewers.
Some might be surprised to learn that an outspoken apologist for Mr. Bunker was the man who once described himself as “the most discriminated-against person in America. I’m short, Jewish, and black.” None other than Sammy Davis, Jr. himself made a guest appearance on All in the Family to tell Bunker that he liked him.
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