by Jeffrey Escano // Staff Writer
It’s much more than just that. Stereotypes. They’re harmful and largely misconstrued ideas about different ethnicities/races. In a period of time where our society is making an effort to be more progressive than ever, stereotyping should not be a problem. Sadly, it still is. We as people tend to look at the negatives over the positives and paint people under broad brush strokes, and when something is ingrained into society like how stereotypes are, then they become extremely hurtful and hard to get rid of.
“My mom’s friend has [been stereotyped], the cops pulled him over and arrested him for having his music too loud and asked if he was a gang member.” said CHS freshman Randell King.
Stereotypes share a strong connection with racism, which is why they can be so harmful. Because Randell’s mom’s friend happened to be a black man, he was targeted by cops for nothing more than just playing music. Perhaps the content of the music was taken into consideration, but for a fact those cops wouldn’t have targeted the person like that if he was white or of any other ethnicity.
Because of how deeply ingrained stereotypes and racism are in our society, not everyone feels as though it’s an issue we can easily move on from.
“I think we can’t stop people from using racial stereotypes completely but all we can do as people is to ignore the racial stereotypes that come our way and move on with our lives.” said Luis Macias, a senior also from Carson High School.
While a very simple answer and not in depth, Randell provides a solution and more positive outlook with trying to work against stereotypes.
“People can stop acting like the stereotypes others label them with.” Said King.
Bad impressions are stronger than good impressions, and are harder to shake out of people’s heads. Because of the actions of a small percentage of the black community, Randell King’s mom’s friend is just one of many in the black community that will have to deal with harsh treatment from people like cops who choose to stereotype them. Stereotypes are a problem prevalent in all ethnicities and cultures, but it’s up to us to find a way to break these stereotypical images bestowed upon us by previous generations.
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