Stereotypes

Chinua Achebe once said “The whole idea of a stereotype is to simplify. Instead of going through the problem of all this great diversity - that it's this or maybe that - you have just one large statement; it is this”. After reading these two sections together, I realized how much I stereotype when before I thought I could proudly say I didn’t. I watch a lot of sports and to be honest, I think that most of the star athletes are black, many of the white ones aren’t so great, and the only good quarter backs are the white one. I’m ashamed to admit how stereotypical that is but it’s what I’ve been thinking. I know I’m not ethnocentric and back home, I had friends of all races and the only way I judged them was based off their character. However, when it comes to people I don’t know, like athletes, it’s simply easier to stereotype. I know that almost all stereotypes, including my own, are not true. Michel Vick is one of the best quarterbacks in the league right now. Steve Nash is one of the best point guards in the history of the league. Wes Welker is simply put an amazing wide receiver. It’s easy to stereotype, but we must strive to keep an open mind and judge people only on themselves.