Stereotypes have for centuries lined the minds of humans, and have caused many many problems between different races, cultures and countries. Stereotypes I believe have even been known to cause wars, even in modern history.
In the United States we have been stereotyped by the Muslim world as infidels or non-believers, but we have stereotyped all Muslims as terrorists even though a select minority group in the Middle East and elsewhere are the sole cause of all Islamic religious attacks.
Words fired at certain groups of people seem to travel fast and stick to them like crazy glue, which in turn affects the opinions of those that observe them. Whether or not the stereotyping of certain people is true or false, it will happen, and it is up to the viewer to determine what is myth and fact. Stereotypes create rifts, and buffers between different cultures and countries, and with this distance in place it makes it insanely difficult or awkward to near your neighbor and fellowship them. Instead of getting to know the people for who they are, we rely on preconceived ideas and stereotypes and indulge them as fact, really not knowing if they are myth or fact.
Sifting out the valuable information from stereotypes seems to be difficult for the world. Being able to and having the courage to get to know and study people gives one the chance to analyze and determine what is true about the stereotype and what is not. When Garcilaso was traveling through the Basque country of Spain I’m sure he entered with many preconceived notions of the people because of all the writings before his time, but when he arrived and spent time with the people, he realized that they were very happy. He wrote “joy begins there and only ends with death”. When he realized this, his stereotypical thought process had shed itself of all negativity.
Using our God given common sense, courage, and friendship are ways one can sift through and filter the hordes of stereotypes and find value in a culture, race or country.
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