I’m like my mother. I stereotype. It’s faster.
- Ryan Bingham (George Clooney) – “Up in the Air”
Stereotype, as wikipedia says is a commonly held public belief about specific social groups or types of individuals.
We all stereotype. We all are stereotyped. Frankly there is a lot of truth to what Ryan says above. Stereotypes are brain’s way of caching a process. Its a gift and saves from the proverbial trouble of re-inventing the wheel.
However, things are not quite rosy when this stereotyping gets more myopic. People start applying other’s stereotypes into their situations. If your friend had a bad feel about a movie, you would tend to think the same way. If this happens to a large number of your friends, you would be so sure that the movie is bad. This is dangerous. You are not your friend. You are unique. There is a saying in Tamil:
கண்ணால் காண்பதும் பொய், காதால் கேட்பதும் பொய். தீர விசாரிப்பதே மெய்.
This roughly means, what you see is a lie, what you hear is a lie. What you analyse and find is alone truth. This essentially advocates against the grain of stereotype.
Personally I love to see people who stereotype fail. They are essentially not stupid, but somehow they missed the rational call to verify. I have many instances in my life where people have thought I am from REC (NIT) Trichy when I say I studied in Trichy. Really?!
IIT. IIM. US of A. 3BHK. Prius. Spelling bee child. Carnatic music child. Bharatanatyam Child. Pittsburg Balaji. Mylapore. Import Hershey kisses. Export Maavadus. Too much of same stuff. Uff!
The society is infested with stereotype generators and is always viewed via a stereotyping glass. Be wary and break as much stereotypes as you can enjoy the fun! Start with doing atleast something small in a different way. It leaves people wondering and creates an enigma around you.
P.S. This post was initially titled “I shall not buy a Suzuki Swift”.
P.P.S. This post is not to offend anyone, don’t take it seriously!
