Its's All In The Family

    Socially constructed theses of race either sound rude and are rude, or sound like compliments but are really assumptions and come with a hurtful tone. For example, saying that Asians/South Asians are the smartest and would never do anything risque because they’re all good-two shoes, is incorrect. Yes, scientifically and observationally one might notice that many Asians are in fact intelligent and receive good grades and aren’t always seen indulging in some sort of activity that involves drinking, smoking, or doing other things of this nature. But some theses, or stereotypes as I like to refer to them as, would go too far and begin to put labels on this and it gets to a point where suddenly you see people mocking them or reprimanding them if they don’t follow the stereotype that someone believes in. from what I’ve seen, some people start to make comments like “are you allowed to do that?”, “how do you know that’s a thing?” (referring to a dance move or a song with profanity, and the most prominent “do your parents let you do that?”. People start to think that just because someone’s skin color is different and their ethnicity is different, they don’t have any idea what American culture is, or what it has to offer. (Ironic because in fact, the ones that fall for these stereotypes are the ones that actually don’t have any clue what someone’s culture is actually like). 

    These constructed by society exist in various forms, people subconsciously believe that people from the Middle East must be watched out for, especially if they wear a hijab or don’t look Americanized---they might be a terrorist in the making. African Americans are looked down upon because when you see them, the society has programmed you to automatically associate anger, gun violence, robbery, poverty, and vandalism with them. You suddenly want to turn the corner when you find yourself about to cross paths with someone whose skin is dark. And this may be not just the skin color, but the fact that they are wearing a hoodie or something laid back.

But if you saw a white person wearing a hoodie, you simply think “eh, it’s just a guy.” you don’t start fearing for your life or wondering if they're strapped or possessing a weapon, all while they very well could be. 

Society has collectively made it so that there is a negative, hurtful stereotype for all other races other than caucasians. But recently because of the hurtful comments coming from the current president of the US, the tables have turned and even colored people have stereotypes posed on caucasian. The problem is that no one is working consistently enough to end these socially constructed theses because this would require that people get out of their comfort zone and travel, talk to a person that looks different from them, learn something about another culture, and more importantly respectfully listen without getting triggered and starting a riot. A vast majority of this country has not travelled outside of their hometowns to other countries and they grow up only absorbing and believing what they see and hear on the TV screen and from schools, without thinking to find out for themselves or explore something further. A mixture of ignorance and incorrect information breeds hatred and conflict that pulls the world as a whole behind and keeps us from advancing and developing together.