Rhetoric and stereotype essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rhetoric and stereotype - Essay Example 216), which is dangerous, because our perception influences our attitude and behavior towards people. â€Å"Certainly, no one objects to generalizations as long as they stay at that level and are grounded in palpable fact. Who would deny that there are categories such as rebellious teenagers, reserved Englishmen, or excitable Latinos, even though exceptions abound (Kreyche, 1996, p. 98)† not unless off course, if they are used negatively. For example, calling someone a senior citizen because you would like to impress his/her old-agedness connoting physical and mental unfitness, or comparing someone to a politician because you perceived him/her to be liar, manipulator and power hunger are negative stereotypes. Stereotyping is dangerous when it is predetermined in pursuit of one’s vested interest. This is especially so if stereotype is consciously used for political persecution. The most common example today is stereotyping Muslims as terrorists, which news facts would tell that this stereotype justify military attack against Muslim nations. Another one is using stereotype to deny one group of their basic right to equal treatment and equal opportunity. For example, a gay teacher may be stereotyped as child molester or a sex pervert that may cause a hiring board to deny him employment even if he is educationally qualified or worse he is an easy target of these accusations. From a different viewpoint, stereotype in fact tells us the level of our understanding of people’s behavior, actions, and choices, which in another way tells also who we are – in effect by stereotyping other people, we are also stereotyping ourselves. For example, stereotyping tattooed persons as drug addicts only reveals our ignorance of art or of self-expression; stereotyping a feminist to be man-hater only reveals our ignorance of feminism; stereotyping a senior citizen to be mentally and physically weak only reveals our ignorance of the wisdom that comes with age; or stereotyping