The Part That Isn't Preached: The Unseen Peril

The dangers of stereotyping groups based on race, ethnicity, culture, etc. are preached to people of all ages. Through this sermonizing, we learn that we can never trust these assumptions, that they're offensive, and that we should not believe them even if they seem to be true. However, something we are not taught is how pronounced the impact is on those who are victims of stereotypes. People who belong to a group that is commonly stereotyped suffer the consequences of our assumptions on a much larger scale than imagined, but there is no way to teach this as a danger of stereotyping because most of us can't understand it. Sherman Alexie's essay, Indian Education, displays how stereotypes can make people resent their own culture. Alexie writes, “…when we look in the mirror, see the history of our tribe in our eyes, taste failure in the tap water, and shake with old tears…” (lines 64-66), his tribe lives with an underlying shame because they are aware of how society perceives them. This embarrassment is the result of being portrayed in a way that does not accurately represent who they are, what they believe, or what lifestyle they choose to live. These people shoulder the burden of walking around knowing that strangers they pass on the street have a preconceived misconception of not only their culture but the essence of who they are as an individual. These assumptions, although false, are hurtful. There are infinite variations of personalities and people that exist within a culture and stereotypes strip them all of their individual merits and accomplishments, defining them in terms of what uneducated and insensitive members of society see from the outside. These stereotypes degrade individuals, entire cultures, and society as a whole and people who don’t experience it firsthand are entirely unaware of how widespread and intense the effect is.