Top 10 Racial Stereotypes / Slurs

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Im sure you hear racial stereotypes everyday or you’ve said one as a joke before. There are many stereotypes for every race and ethnicity. Generally, these stereotypes are born because an individual or a select group does something that makes others reflect poorly upon the entire ethnic group or race. Certainly, racial or ethnic profiling can be offensive, but mostly they are a source of humor and playful fun. Let’s take a peek:

10. White People Don’t Have Rhythm

For western society, this stereotype has survived for ages. It has branched off into different jokes such as “No white people can dance.” White people generally have jerky movements, which makes them appear to be poor at dancing. However, everyone has their own opinions and white people can be good at dancing – it just depends on what type it is.

9. Black People Are The Best At Athletics

Alright, I will admit that there is an obvious domination in the Olympics and other professionally played sports. For example, the largest percentage (over 82%) of professional basketball players currently in the NBA is African-American. Another example is the running/sprinting track & field events: I saw that there were 7 out of 8 people in each race were African American and the person that got last in each race was the non-black competitor. However, this does not necessarily mean that every African American man/woman is better than everybody else in the sport. I’d say a more accurate statement is that black people are great at the highest level.

8. All Asians Are Geniuses

There is a distinct impression that every Asian kid in the United States school system is a mathematical and scientific badass. Honestly, the statistics do show that (percentage wise) Asian student generally obtain better scores and rankings compared to other races. But, Asians also represent a smaller part of the communities and classrooms, so these numbers can be misleading. But hey… think about it – in the movies, which group of people are always the actors that play doctors, surgeons, etc? If the movie directors use this stereotype it must be true!

7. Mexicans Don’t Speak English Well or At All

The only case where this might be true is if you’re in Latin America. What about the people in France? Do they all speak English perfectly? Sure, some immigrants from Mexico may not speak English at its greatest. Keep in mind, the vast majority of these individuals pick up the language extremely quickly. I’m sure you know a Hispanic person in your community who gets along just fine.

6. Native Americans Love to Gamble

This is a fairly recent stereotype that has manifested as a result of the high percentage of casinos that can be found on Native American reservations around the country. The assumption is that because there are an increasingly large number of these houses of gaming on reservations, Native Americans love to gamble. Actually, the truth of the matter is that Native Americans love to make money – after all, who doesn’t? The casinos in question are usually owned by the tribe(s) of the reservation in which the establishment is located. Because of the various unique laws that work in favor of reservations, Native Americans have found the gaming industry to be very beneficial. The majority of the visitors to these reservation casinos are obviously non-Native American.

5. All Asians Stink At Driving

I’m sure you’ve made or heard comments on the road like “I bet this driver in front of us is asian” or “How much you wanna bet she’s asian.” When asked why people say this, it’s because “they have chinky eyes so they can’t see the road,” or something similar to that statement. Although it does appear that Asians are poor at driving, it is not true for all Asians. Maybe a few don’t drive as well but it definitely doesn’t apply to the entire ethnic group. As to the eyesight thing – Asians win the Table Tennis (Ping Pong) international tournaments all the time because they have great hand-EYE coordination. So the ability to see shouldn’t be a factor.

4. White People Are All Racist

Some say that the sins of the past will haunt the present, and here it is certainly true with this stereotype. There is obvious truth in the fact that many groups of people have suffered as a result of harsh treatment at the hands of white folks. However, not all white people, for example, were slave owners or even believed in the institution of slavery. True, there are white people who are racist, but not everyone (or even a majority of everyone) holds to those beliefs. White people are no more racist than anyone else.

3. All Middle Easterners Are Terrorists

Unfortunately, Media hype has done more to perpetuate this stereotype than anything else. This is especially true with the current heightened sensitivity to terrorism. Conversely, this stereotype is shown to be a fallacy by the sheer number of people of Middle Eastern descent that either reside in the United States or want to. Everything from superb higher educational opportunities to gainful employment continues to attract individuals from the Middle East (and elsewhere) to the United States. Suffice to say, there is more love for America among Middle Easterners than not. One can even see evidence of this in Middle Eastern countries itself – there are McDonald’s in the desert!  There is nothing that says “I Love America” more than a local McDonald’s. So the next time you hear someone shouting “death to America,” you can probably consider him the local social pariah in need of a cup of coffee from the nearest Starbucks.

2. Black Men Have Big ****s

Similar to anything else in this world, it depends on the individual. It is probably safe to say that those individuals who find this stereotype lacking would certainly wish otherwise. Black guys have definitely used this particular stereotype to their advantage.  There have actually been a few studies on this particular issue, with the results being inclusive. Apparently there doesn’t seem to be a very big (no pun intended) rush for guys to measure themselves for scientific purposes. This stereotype is therefore still somewhat of a mystery in terms of veracity. Nevertheless, this particular stereotype is persistent and many have fallen victim to unrealistic expectations from their lady friends.

1. Mexicans Are All Illegal Immigrants

If one listens to some of the more conservative talk shows, one would come to the false conclusion that the majority (if not all) of the Hispanic people in America are illegal immigrants. Certainly, there is an illegal immigration problem. But this is not indicative of the status of the vast majority of Hispanics that reside in the US. Many Hispanics are seasonal immigrant workers who have work visas.  They come to the US to work and then return home. Others proceed through the proper channels in order to live and work in US permanently. Then of course, there are Hispanics who are naturally born American citizens. The problem, as usual, is that little attention is given to those who go about doing something right, while all eyes are on those who abuse the system. The dramatic rise in the Latino population doesn’t indicate a mass exodus past the border patrol. It’s a whole lot easier to be a Hispanic immigrant to the United States than it is being a Haitian or German – there’s a lot more water to cross for those folks.

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