Do you have any "positive" racist opinions or stereotypical views?

[Adeptus Aspartem]

Hungarians eat TONS of food. We've hungarian relatives and whenever they cook or throw parties there's enough food to feed dozens of normal-eating people.
And also whenever i went to Budapest or Balaton the restaurants served menus that could feed you for a week
Also most of them seem to be able to drink alot of booze!

Male homosexuals dress better than straight guys and Brits have dark humor.

 

[Signa]

Since most of the good ones are already stated, I do think in general there are some racial predisposition for different races to excel in certain aspects. Things like Asians being good at math seems to transcend cultural influences. I like how The Elder Scrolls handles the racial perks of each race, because anyone can be anything, but some things will just come easier or harder to different people.

 

[Nosferatu2]

Ultimately, there's no such thing. Now, you can wrap up your prejudice in a veneer of beneficence, but it leads to the same thing in the end.

So if I said "on average I fine black woman more attractive." That's the same thing as my ancestors beating the shit out of there slaves?

In the end everyone stereotypes, it's how the human mind works. I think steven pinker has a book about that. And there might be some video on "Big Think" that talks about it.

 

[Yopaz]

Ultimately, there's no such thing. Now, you can wrap up your prejudice in a veneer of beneficence, but it leads to the same thing in the end.

That's not necessarily true. That's like saying although having handicap parking for disabled people is positive discrimination, in the end you'll end up negatively discriminating against them.

But it's really for practical purposes as opposed to baseless assumptions made by people. You cannot really compare "Asians are good at maths" which cannot be proved true to "this person need more care because he has no legs" which in most cases is true.

Actually PISA (ranking system for best students compared to various countries) ranks Asian countries the highest when it comes to maths, Asian countries actually ranks 1-7 so there is statistical evidence that Asians are better at maths. So I wouldn't call it a baseless assumption. A faulty assumption, sure, but not baseless.

Spoiler: Pisa results

OT: I really can't think of anything.

 

[DoPo]

Ultimately, there's no such thing. Now, you can wrap up your prejudice in a veneer of beneficence, but it leads to the same thing in the end.

So if I said "on average I fine black woman more attractive." That's the same thing as my ancestors beating the shit out of there slaves?

Erm....your example is not a stereotype, though - it's preference. Also, no, even if you did have a stereotype, the two are obviously not the same thing - but here is the thing - I've yet to find a definition of "prejudice" that means what you said it means. A prejudice is forming an opinion on merely an aspect of the person - the colour of their skin, their nationality, their place of birth, or whatever else. That's what it is. Stereotypes work the same way as prejudices, so yes, in fact the two ARE the same - they aren't in your words only because you failed addressing each.

 

[Boba Frag]

Here's a positive stereotype for you. There's something about people from the UK, (Southern) Ireland, Australia and New Zealand that makes them want to travel. It's almost as if it's in their blood, which isn't that far off from the truth in an historical context.

When I lived in different parts of the US, I ran into people from those countries the most, and strangely enough, they tended to travel in threes. Now, I don't hold any of the negative stereotypes that residents from those areas have against each other, so whenever Aussies came to town it was always a blast (any game we played, it was always "Aussie Rules"). Actually, everyone was a blast, and polite to boot.

It was always impressive when I heard how they came to travel, usually around the world. One trio of girls came from England after saving up for one year. They stopped for several months in, I think it was Malaysia, where they worked at a hotel for some more cash. Then they made their way to Boston, which is where I met them. Another time I was in Seattle, and met more Brits/Scots/Irish/Aussies/Kiwis at the local youth hostel, including the hostel offshore on Vashon Island. They were all good people, and smart travelers. They mostly traveled light, had the cash and the brains to mail all of their souvenirs back home, and never EVER left home without travelers' insurance. There must be some sort of inherent curiosity they possess that overpowers the fear of the alien and unknown.

Interesting story!

As an Irish person, though, it always confuses me why foreign folks can't just say the 'Republic of Ireland' to distinguish it from Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK. Top points for making the distinction, though.

Also, I hate to say it, but the Irish aren't really natural wanderers- we're pretty inward looking & generally only leave due to economic pressures.
That said, I'm speaking about our current brain drain wave of emigration.

You'll always get intrepid individuals, though

 

[Queen Michael]

Because of the movies I watch, I always assume that old Chinese people are martial arts experts who can beat up entire armies on their own.

I visited an old folks' home in China once. I was terrified.

 

[Something Amyss]

I hope I don't have any racist opinions. If so, I'd like to be informed of them so I can adjust my thinking.

Ultimately, there's no such thing. Now, you can wrap up your prejudice in a veneer of beneficence, but it leads to the same thing in the end.

Thank you.

 

[Frezzato]

snip

In retrospect, it's pretty ridiculous that I referred to it as "(Southern) Ireland" so I appreciate the correction!

 

[wulf3n]

Ultimately, there's no such thing. Now, you can wrap up your prejudice in a veneer of beneficence, but it leads to the same thing in the end.

So if I said "on average I fine black woman more attractive." That's the same thing as my ancestors beating the shit out of there slaves?

Erm....your example is not a stereotype, though - it's preference. Also, no, even if you did have a stereotype, the two are obviously not the same thing - but here is the thing - I've yet to find a definition of "prejudice" that means what you said it means. A prejudice is forming an opinion on merely an aspect of the person - the colour of their skin, their nationality, their place of birth, or whatever else. That's what it is. Stereotypes work the same way as prejudices, so yes, in fact the two ARE the same - they aren't in your words only because you failed addressing each.

And that's what he has done. He has formed an opinion "Black woman are attractive" based on one[ok technically two] aspect they have, the colour of their skin [and gender but that's moot]. So it is by the definition you provided prejudiced.

 

[Nosferatu2]

Erm....your example is not a stereotype, though - it's preference.

No, its both. And I don't know who you where talking to after that but it wasn't me. I didn't define anything.

 

[Vegosiux]

Ultimately, there's no such thing. Now, you can wrap up your prejudice in a veneer of beneficence, but it leads to the same thing in the end.

I'd agree with that, actually. I mean, discrimination is pretty much a zero-sum game in that a "positive" stereotype also implies you consider the other camp lacking this "positive" trait, by extension considering them "worse" in comparison.

And I don't see a way for discrimination to even be possible without a point of comparison.

 

[geK0]

I find girls with foreign accents to be very attractive, does that count? Otherwise, I typically don't make assumptions, negative or positive about people I've just met.

 

[Thaluikhain]

Ultimately, there's no such thing. Now, you can wrap up your prejudice in a veneer of beneficence, but it leads to the same thing in the end.

I'd agree with that, actually. I mean, discrimination is pretty much a zero-sum game in that a "positive" stereotype also implies you consider the other camp lacking this "positive" trait, by extension considering them "worse" in comparison.

And I don't see a way for discrimination to even be possible without a point of comparison.

It also tends to lead to that group being stereotyped as not having things in contrast to that.

Certain ethnic groups might be seen as close to nature, good at simple wisdom...which leads to them not being seen as being as civilised. Woman as seen as gentle and nurturing, which means they aren't seen as strong and assertive, and so on.

 

[Vegosiux]

Certain ethnic groups might be seen as close to nature, good at simple wisdom...which leads to them not being seen as being as civilised. Woman as seen as gentle and nurturing, which means they aren't seen as strong and assertive, and so on.

Mmmm, that one is a lot subtler, yeah, but I don't think that would be as much of a problem if those traits weren't thought of as "mutually exclusive" but rather more, fitting specific situations better than the other occasionally. And definitely not mutually exclusive as personality traits.

 

[Therumancer]

An interesting discussion at work today towards positive stereotypes some of us believe in. Like how every Asian woman is attractive til they reach the age of sixty or so. Racist sort of, but not necessarily negative.

For example, I've lived in a few different places during my life. And I can without a single doubt say that nobody throws a barbecue like a black man. Seriously, they get tons of people! Tons of them!

And they are all friendly and never seem to fight even after the excessive alcohol intake if there is any alcohol at all, which there rarely is for some reason. Mostly it is just food, delicious food!

So there you go, stereotypical, but not negative. ^^

Also: Every single Indian person I've met makes great salads and other vegetarian dishes. Why is this?! Even if they are bad cooks the salad itself is awesome.

There are plenty of them when you get down to it, though typically a stereotype involves more than simply race, and honestly even the ones that many people complain about come with a bunch of negative and positive traits.

In a general sense, some of the ones that can apply are:

Hispanics/Latinos being very clean and well organized
Asians being good with math and computers and many being skilled fighters
Blacks having natural rhythm and being good with song and dance
Italians being great cooks, and artists in the kitchen

That said, I figure many people here will not take well to this thread (though I could be wrong). When I took sociology in college we did something similar when talking about stereotypes, why and how they exist, and how they tend to be accurate. To try and soften it in displaying things they had people first work with position stereotypes and a sort of "why do you think this is?" point which got into culture, upbringing, and things on a large scale. It made it a little less controversial when it was later shown how it can be applied to negative traits just as accurately, and how all of that power can be used to manipulate people on a large scale through things like advertising. Right up there with other formative exercises such as demonstrating as how anyone who says they aren't part of a stereotype might be right, but they simply enter into another one. Sociology taught correctly can be sort of intimidating.

If your trying to do a series of threads and go in generally the same directions over time... I recommend not doing it. What works in a classroom isn't going to work in a general internet community.

 

[Roofstone]

It is actually surprisingly entertaining watching people argue and debate the ups and downs of stereotypes here, this thread was a great success as far as entertainment goes. Even if it went kinda off topic.

Snip

No, I am not planning to manipulate people to accept my racist opinions. (That is what I got from your post)

I am honestly just having fun.

 

[Therumancer]

It is actually surprisingly entertaining watching people argue and debate the ups and downs of stereotypes here, this thread was a great success as far as entertainment goes. Even if it went kinda off topic.

Snip

No, I am not planning to manipulate people to accept my racist opinions. (That is what I got from your post)

I am honestly just having fun.

Ahh, well the truth is that even if you did that it wouldn't be "racist" though some people might call it bigoted. That's one of the problems with sociology in general, and psychology as well for that matter. People don't like being shown how easily they can be classified and predicted, or how you can isolate groups and group behavior/truths fairly easily (with the understanding that there are exceptions, even if general rules can be shown to apply, and even manipulated).

I was mostly saying that such academic points don't go over well here on The Escapist, applied sociology has been a touchy subject in the past, and internet forums tend to be a very general venue, the kinds of things that fly in a classroom do not work here for the most part any more than they would in general discussion.

If your just having fun, apologies for second guessing where you might be going, but even so as someone whose been in similar conversations in the past, I sort of suggest staying off a topic like this.

 

[bartholen_v1legacy]

Ultimately, there's no such thing. Now, you can wrap up your prejudice in a veneer of beneficence, but it leads to the same thing in the end.

What? Leading to what exactly? Disrimination? If you rephrase that to "it's ultimately the same thing in the end" ie. prejudice, then I can agree, but I really don't see how assuming that say, black people can run faster than white people, can lead to segregation, second class citizenship, denial of human rights etc. which are the most significant consequences of racism.

Since I don't know many foreigners or ethnic minorities, I'll have to resort to my own nationality. By most standards Finns are fairly rude and quiet, but when we talk, we get to the point right away and don't waste time on small talk. When you talk to a Finn, every word you get out of them will have some meaning and thought behind it.

 

[Boba Frag]

snip

In retrospect, it's pretty ridiculous that I referred to it as "(Southern) Ireland" so I appreciate the correction!

Well, loads of people from the US or various other places do that, so it wasn't a criticism of you at all

Oddly enough, I'm from the very southern part of the island, so make of that what you will lol