But the question is, do any of those stereotypes about white people MATTER? How are white people harmed by them, as opposed to Police officers being more likely to shoot black males for reaching for their wallet, or the fact that you’re 11 times more likely to be executed if your victim is white than latino and either 7 or 8x more likely if black?
I mean, I agree with you there is sometimes a grain of truth in stereotypes, and that they don’t tell you anything when meeting an individual, but the ones that are used against blacks cause tangible harm and are systematic, the ones you just listed are lines played out comics use on BET… I don’t see a lot of similarity in the outcome.
On a grand scale? No, because whites are the majority. But people were saying that there were no white stereotypes…and that sounds exactly what someone would say if they just assumed “We’re all varied and different; it’s them who are easily caricaturized and generalizable.”
On an individual scale, I would think some of those stereotypes could matter. If you believed white people are naturally prejudiced, would you want your child being taught by one? If you thought white people were more likely to be sexually deviant, would you want to live next to one? If you’re marrying into a black family and you are white, you may want to consider that your in-laws will think you won’t know how to discipline the kids. If you’re working alongside black people, you may want to be aware that some of them will assume you are a snob or uptight and react accordingly. So you may want to be relaxed and leave your bowtie at home.
My former boss was a black guy, and he would always tell me that I had to make sure EVERYTHING I did was perfect, because all the white folks would exaggerate any mistake I made and not have any respect for me. I have no doubt that he believed this and that this idea drove him to working as hard as he did. Personally, I am ambivalent. On one hand, why should I care about rebuking a stereotype? I do like fried chicken, so why should I pretend I don’t? I know I work hard and that I am smart, so why should I have to prove myself to people? On the other hand, there are instances where “caring” does matter. I do think it’s true that in your average professional setting, a black person has to demonstrate excellence in order to be rated as “adequate”. It was true fifty years ago, thirty years ago, and it’s true today. Maybe not as intensely as when my boss was coming up, but the stereotype of the lazy, inept negro is still out there and embedded in people’s minds.
I didn’t “prove” anything. I was just sharing my feeling about whether a person should care about a stereotype or not. Saying “white stereotypes don’t matter” is ridiculous, because they can and often do matter at the individual level.
Unless you are saying that black people (or non-whites) are more enlightened than white people? Well, in that case, this stereotype is true. I am a magical negro.
We were talking about the societal level. I doubt anyone who is not also mulatto could know what it’s like to experience both anti-black and anti-white stereotyping in their life, so obviously I know both exist. But in comparison at a society level no, stereotypes about white folk do not seem to be doing them much if any harm, since on a societal level blacks have much less power. And I don’t see where anyone said that there aren’t any stereotypes about white folk or that they don’t have an effect on an individual basis.
[Quote=devilsknew]
don’t white folks have an equally true stereotype of being hamburger and wiener gobblers?
[/Quote]
[Quote=Zoe]
At my class reunion and my family reunion we served BBQ only. West Tennessee is known for its supreme BBQ. Nothing like it. Everyone in my hometown went to the same black man’s store to buy it and his secret sauce. The old store is still standing and there is a photo of it on my hometown’s Facebook page.
But every Sunday we had fried chicken for dinner. We didn’t eat it because we were poor. We ate it because it was wildly good tasting. The biscuits and gravy were mighty fine too.
Fried chicken was so widely prepared by rich and by poor that when I was in high school home economics class, he were taught how to prepare fried chicken – starting with the live chicken strung upside down in front of us.. Our school was not integrated at that time.
When I was growing up I would usually alternate between an Orange Crush and a Nehi Grape. As an adult I have added Peach flavored drinks to that. Also tea and coffee drinks. Now I am craving a Nehi Grape so badly that I will have to send hubby to the store.
Anyone remember that Radar O’Reilly loved Nehi Grape?
[/Quote]
Yea, that’s kind of what I am getting at though… The Hamburger and Hot Dog are really Yankee or Northern Foods in origin (or even White Central European immigrant foods) as compared to the Southern/Soul food stereotype. They are all considered American foods and are everywhere now, but Yanks would have to more stereotypically be considered the Hamburger and Hot Dog grillers and gobblers as compared to the real BBQ tradition.
And I suppose when you really break them down even farther past the Northern and Southern divide, Soul Food/BBQ and the Hamburger/Hot Dog tradition are in the true culinary sense an example of American Country/Farm Vittles and City/Street Food, respectively…
I mean wouldn’t it be more appropriate to talk about how black people stereotype each other, nowadays for being “Country Niggas” and “Street Thug N/S/W/E-side Niggas”?
In this video the narrator, in typical, “You might be a redneck” delivery and style intimates and disparages “*Country Ass Niggas”, “If you say, you’re going to eat something light, and then eat two pork chop sandwiches, some chitlins, a side of macaroni and cheese and then wash it down with some Kool-aid, then you’re a Country Ass Nigga!.”.
Some of these stereotypes might have more to do with hayseed and city folk (peasant and gentry) classist and geography stereotypes rather than racial stereotypes.
