The Stereotype: A Cheap Substitute for Thinking?

Google Image

As I age, I’m acutely aware of stereotypes about old people and find myself trying not to fall into them. I try not to get too far behind in wardrobe trends, too far out-of-touch with modern life, too out-of-shape physically or, God forbid, show signs of forgetfulness.

I know aging is a natural process and, objectively, carries no shame. But in my weaker moments, I want to be seen as vibrant and healthy.

All of us are affected by stereotypes. It could be because of age, gender, race, appearance, or any number of human traits. Society has a way of categorizing people and it is sometimes harsh, its stereotypes often having severe effects on people’s lives. They may contain a kernel of truth, but in my view, stereotypes are a cheap substitute for thinking.

Done Something To Offend?

Many years ago, I began imagining how difficult it must be to grow up black. If you’re not treated well, you must ask yourself whether it’s because you have done something to offend, whether you are unlikable, or whether it’s simply because you’re black, which must be terribly frustrating because you can do nothing about it.

I recently listened to a TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) Talk by Stanford University Psychology Professor Emeritus Claude Steele, who is African American. He told about the first time he “realized (he) was black.”

Claude Steele

Growing up in Chicago, he learned that “black kids could only use the public swimming pool on Wednesdays.” There followed a lot of questioning, and a lifetime of dealing with racism.

His well-known book, Whistling Vivaldi, is a thorough treatment of stereotypes and their effects. The title comes from an African-American writer friend of Steele who used to whistle Vivaldi or the Beatles while walking in Chicago so that people wouldn’t apply the stereotype of young black men as “dangerous.”

In his TED Talk speech, Steele refers to the “stereotype threat” with which groups that are particular targets of stereotyping have to deal. Observing the effect of stereotypes on people’s performance in study and work, he devised research techniques to study whether negative stereotypes contribute to under-performance and to determine if they could be overcome.

He and his colleagues showed how negative stereotypes about women, for instance, caused them to perform less well than male students on math exams. And they devised ways that made the female students ignore the stereotypes and do at least as well.

So what does all this have to do with the search for God?     

It’s that people searching for God – including people who have given up on God and/or religion – should try to see others as God sees them. How do we know how God sees them?

We don’t know, precisely. But one of the reasons we need religion is to access its centuries-old insight into how humans view God and God views us.

God Rejects Stereotypes

The Hebrew Bible shows how those views evolved in the two to three thousand years before Christ, going from a prevalent view of a severe, punishing God to one who loves us like a parent. The theology continued to evolve in the Christian Bible and in subsequent centuries since so that in contemporary Judeo-Christianity, God rejects all our stereotypes to see people for what they are – God’s children.

In my own life, I’ve seen that the closer I am to God, the more likely I am to see others as I believe God sees them. I regret the ways I’ve stereotyped people in the past and try harder not to do it now.

Stereotyping others is an obstacle in the search for God. Weening ourselves from them adds to our own peace and happiness and brings us closer to our goal of finding God. And it helps eliminate the “stereotype threat” that may keep others from doing their best.