Stereotypes, Babies and Bathwater

It’s really been a tumultuous few weeks. The bad news from the pandemic doesn’t seem to go away and the ugly nature of our racist society has also surfaced for the umpteenth millionth time.  If you haven’t read my post: “Why is America Still Racist?” You should read that one before this one because I will cite some of the historical assertions made there, in this one.  

I still assert that the root of discrimination in any form in our society lies in great majority in stereotyping.  Stereotyping is defined as the fixed or oversimplified idea or image that is widely held about a person, place, thing or idea.  Usually, stereotypes are based in, and therefore originate from, some small component of truth, but that truth is then warped by generalization, and compounded by ignorance and lack of perspective.  Here are two stereotypes that are at the center of the racial issues we are facing:  All black people are thugs.  All cops are mindless, murderous racists.  

Let’s analyze these examples.  All black people are thugs.  There are two reasons such a stereotype could continue to be purported and in the saddest situations, actually believed.  1). Some black people are criminals.  2). And the socioeconomic realities stemming from a racist system, with its genesis all the way back in slave times when black people were viewed as inferior (and their lives didn’t matter as long as they were cheap labor that could easily be replaced).  Black communities have a tendency to be poorer than white communities. Colored communities in general tend to be poorer.  The origin of the term “the hood” has its roots in describing a community that has mostly non-white inhabitants and is ravaged by crime, gangs and poverty. 

But here’s why these things, while being partially true, are warped so ridiculously by perspective.  Ever heard of the term white trash? This is another stereotype to describe poor white communities, sometimes living in trailers.  Have you ever heard of criminals who are white? Of course you have.  That’s because skin color has nothing to do with whether you are poor, or have criminal tendencies.  Our racist system has caused the circumstances that have led to colored communities being the way they are.  You’ve heard the phrase “being kept down by the man?” White people usually refer to the man as government; black people refer to the man as the white man, literally keeping them down on the plantation.  That’s why we heard poverty referred to as a cycle; because generations of people (black, white, orange, green whatever) haven’t had the ability to break through. Guess what? Wealthy people have a cycle too…they stay rich.  But that’s not seen so negatively.  But in order for the rich to stay rich, they’ve often, throughout history, done so at the expense of the middle and lower class. Those who are in power, do everything they can to stay in power.  

And thus came the system.  Folks with “black sounding” name are less likely to be accepted into college, get hired for a job, get approved for a loan and more.  I read an article once that stated that a study found that not only do those names carry a significantly less chance of being selected to those that sound “white,” the trend is so pervasive, that sometimes folks who have those more “black sounding” names change their names to have a better chance.  Shakespeare once wrote: “What’s in a name”. Apparently, there’s a great deal.  And its stupid.  A name has no bearing on the person except to identify them and give their identity personal meaning. And that only scrapes the surface on the ways the system has been discriminating. 

Now let’s analyze the second stereotype: All cops are mindless murdering racists.  Well unfortunately this one also has some basis in truth.  Since there are racist people in the world, it would stand to reason that some of them would make it in the police force. And unfortunately, they are armed and do have the law on their side.  

But there is a lack of perspective here too. I’ve heard the phrase: “one bad apple ruins the entire basket” to describe the overwhelming negative feeling towards all police departments.  First off, let’s not forget that the analog in itself is a bit flawed. Sure, there are biological reasons that extend exposure to a bad apple could have an effect on the others however even my picky eater syndrome has often been neutralized by cutting off the bad parts of the apple.  It’s also true that the tree from which the apple comes from has a great deal of influence on the health of the fruit it bears. 

I believe that that is also true of many of our institutions including the police. Like any profession, there are the good ones and the bad ones.  But the entire infrastructure is governed by a flawed, racist system. That same flawed system creates a poison at the central organ of the institution that affects everyone. The good cops are getting flak for not standing up to the corrupt system, but it’s true that there exists a fair amount of situations where speaking up could lead unpleasant repercussions and consequences. And not everyone is in a situation to risk everything, and their families’ everything. It’s unthinkable to be in a situation where there’s literal life and death, but I don’t envy them that choice.  

That brings me back to the apple tree. Since the tree largely influences the health of the fruit, the issue is not the apples themselves, but the tree from which they spawn.  So while one apple may not be indicative of a larger systemic problem, lots of bad apples, means that there’s something wrong with the tree. So the logical course of action is to cut down the tree and plant a new one.  Of course just because there’s one bad tree, doesn’t mean you cut down every apple tree. Hell, even if there’s a bunch of trees in one area, you can cut an area down, but you don’t eradicate every apple tree everywhere. 

The same can be said for social institutions that are inbued with, and some presently openly exhibiting systemic discrimination and racism.  For the police, the system needs to be assessed everywhere, and in some places completely redesigned. But just because it doesn’t work in Minneapolis and that that police department has lost the faith of the community doesn’t mean that all police departments should shut down and be defunded.  The stereotype doesn’t describe everyone.  

And that brings me to point of this whole post: Purporting stereotypes doesn’t fix the problem.  You can’t condemn all cops for the poor decisions anymore than you can condemn all priests because some of them abuse children, all teachers because some of them end being poor communicators, or downright criminal, all anyone because there are unprofessional, evil people out there who are amongst the good people.  Purporting stereotypes, doesn’t fix the problem.  Awareness, sensitivity, meaningful dialogue…that will lead to changes that could actually make changes.  And remember what your mother always said:  Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.