If you drive a Tesla or any EV - you must be a left-wing liberal. If you have guns and strongly support the 2nd Amendment - you must be a right-wing conservative.
Political stereotyping is common and convenient, but it’s also wrong - it contributes to the growing social and political divide in America. If you are a young Black male, you must be in a gang and use a gun to solve any disagreements. If you are white and living in rural America, you must be a racist. If you ride a bike to work, you must be a liberal. If you drive a van and pull up to the drive-thru at Chick-Fil-A with a bunch of kids, you must be a conservative. If you support the legalization of marijuana, you must be a liberal. If you are pro-life, you must be a conservative. It goes on and on.
We all do this, and it isn’t always done with malicious intent, but I think it’s good to talk about how inaccurate stereotyping can be. On my talk show today I talked specifically about the stereotypical image of Americans who drive and support electric vehicles. The perception is that those Americans are left-wing liberals. I knew that wasn’t the case so I asked the audience to call in if anyone listening was a conservative and registered Republican that drove an EV. Instantly a listener called in who was a conservative Republican who loved his Tesla. Similarly, the conviction with which many Republican politicians fight against legalizing marijuana suggests that no conservatives smoke pot and I have had countless callers proclaim their support for conservative ideology and pot.
Common in the news are stories about young Black males involved in gun violence, as both victims and suspects. A convenient assumption is that young Black males are criminals. But that excludes the millions upon millions of young Black males that reject a life of crime and work hard every day to better themselves and the parents who strive to keep their young Black male children out of gangs and on the right path.
I have often brought up the ease with which so many white Americans condemn all young Black males based on what they see on the news daily and pointed out that if it’s fair to judge young Black males by what we see on the news, then we should assume that all middle-aged white men are into child porn because that is the overwhelming stereotype we see getting arrested in the news. If it’s fair to stereotype one group, then it’s fair to stereotype all groups. Middle-aged white American men would reject the stereotype that they are into child porn and say “well, that’s not fair.” Then why is it fair to judge young Black males by what we see in the news?
How many Democrats, especially in the South, love hunting and guns and believe that guns can be used for sport or protection?
I get callers on my show that call in from parts of the metro New Orleans area considered extremely conservative, and yet, the callers are calling in with liberal perspectives on key issues.
I remind you that political and social stereotyping is convenient, but while it will always be part of debates and discussions, let’s also remember that each of us are examples of breaking stereotypes.
Think about the stereotypes you break with your life and your interests and perspectives and hopefully that will make you a little less likely to take stereotyping as a serious and accurate way of judging Americans.
