Stereotypes: What Would We Do Without Them?

I've noticed that stereotypes are everywhere these days, and whether you like it or not, most of them are going to stay for a while.

Some of us love stereotypes because it allows us to group people into descriptions to make up the entirety of that population. Generally these people who enjoy grouping are bullies, but sometimes even we do it. How many of you have at one point or another thought Muslims were terrorists? Hopefully not many of you, but perhaps there are many of you, and it's because of what the media has given to us as a portrayal. However, I myself have friends who are muslim and they are some of the nicest people I know. What about gay people? Are they all limp-wristed, flamboyant people? No. They are a variety from actors, to football players, to parents. What about in school, how we categorize people into groups? Just because someone isn't a certain race, religion, sexual orientation, or gender, doesn't mean they aren't stereotyped. In high school and university alone we stereotype people as the "dumb jock" or the "brainy nerd" or the "loners", etc. We even do it in our Facebooks, even if we claim it as "fun".

So why do we do it? Why do we feel the need to stereotype people and automatically assume they're one thing? It's quite simply my friends, it's called the media. Every day we are given a view of a person or group of people who act a certain way and as a result that makes us believe that if these people are acting this way, then anyone who has that label: "Gay", "Black", "Muslim", "Nerd", "Loner", "Jock" is the same way. But let me tell you something, I've met a lot of jocks who are in fact quite smart, "Nerds" who actually have failed more than one test, and gay people who are just like the rest of us.

So before you stereotype someone, here's something to think about, what are you being stereotyped as?

Sean :)

Are We Secretly Being Graded?

Hey Everyone!

So quick summary of the day: got up, had to turn on the stupid pump for the pool but it means our pool will hopefully be open sooner than later, worked with Chris which wasn't bad since we watched the rest of Monsters Vs Aliens which is such a good film :p and then just went back home. Autism-wise, I think the only part that happened was when I saw two friends of mine at the mall (went there too :P). The thing was, they looked different so I was so unsure about whether I should say hi because what if it wasn't them? Then I'd feel soooo awkward. This probably isn't autism :P but I just have to say maybe it is?

Question for you all though on a general scale. Do you find that in this world, we're all secretly being graded? And I don't mean in school, I mean in public, in our friendships, our relationships, everything? I feel as though no matter what we're doing, even if just enjoying a movie with our friends, we're secretly being graded on how we act, what we do, and who we are. But I suppose that's how life is really; we're constantly being judged and placed next to a standard of how people are suppose to be, and if you are against that standard, you're generally shunned for it and separated from "the herd" if you will. This especially applies in more conservative areas, because everyone in those areas want you to follow their rules so if you try and go against it, or are different, you get kicked to the curb.

This I find is very true because throughout high school, I found that many people seemed that they liked me, but as the years went by, more and more people I found were becoming two faced. For example, students council president, I felt I had strong support and a lot of people in the school liked me, but then at the end when I lost, I found out I lost hard because I only got such a small amount of votes. Basically it just made me go "huh" because so many people had said they'd vote for me because of what I believed was best for the school, and then they turned around and voted for the other candidates. Why? It's plain and simple, the fact is because my autism resulted in me often acting weird with friends or getting in their personal spaces or talking more than I should on topics, as a result people just saw me as weird and therefore would treat me one way to my face but wind up actually being total idiots behind my back. What's more, at one point some idiot of a girl who had pretended to be my friend, created a group called "We Hate Sean" and it basically became a group of about 30 people, though more like 20 since ten were trying to defend me, who would bash me and talk about weird things I did. Such as the fact in music class, I was trying to help this one girl with her solo because I like to try and help people as much as I can, and on the site she goes and says something like "oh he tried to help me with my solo when he can't even sing", yet funny enough it was me getting the 80s and 90s on solos and her getting the 60s...(I apologize if that sounds as though I'm being petty, I'm just saying that I gave her my time when I could have practiced my solo to help her, and she goes around and slams me behind my back. The one good thing about this group was it helped show me who were my true friends, and who were petty fake people who frankly deserved no friends except those who were on that group. I really should have reported it to the Principal since it was cyber-bullying, but I felt I was strong enough to deal with it on my own, which I was slowly becoming more confident in myself. But when I look back, I almost wish I had reported it because then some of the people who had joined who are like 80+ well-respected students would have wound up expelled and it would have shown so many who they really were. But like I said, I'm not that type of person, and I just couldn't do that so I dealt with it on my own by reporting it to Facebook for it's removal and it was removed.

But like I said, it seems we're always being graded as to whether we fit the norm, or fit outside of it. This is another reason why I feel I belong in Toronto or New York or Hollywood, because unlike a place like St. Thomas or London, etc. it's a place that accepts those who perhaps are theatrical, or a bit over the top sometimes. So that's my rant for today. I hope you all enjoyed it and I appreciate you reading :D

Love always,
Sean

Bullying Kills

Hey Everyone!

My day was a relatively normal. I had work with Chris as usual, in which we watched Brother Bear. I'd say the only thing that really happened was that I had to work on keeping myself once again from snapping at Chris. Odd thing that did happen was for some reason, Chris slapped himself in the face out of the blue. Not hard, but he still slapped himself which just confused me as to why he'd slap himself.

The thing I have to talk about today is Bullying, because recently a 13-year old from my city died because of bullying. Bullying is one of the worst things going on these days, but frankly it's one of the worst things that has been happening for centuries. Bullying can be found throughout every time period, from Napoleon Bonaparte, to the bullies who caused this boy's life to end. While I cannot really speculate what happened or how this boy's life ended because that would just be rude and irresponsible and probably even hurtful to the family, the fact is he was bullied and the school board won't even admit it despite apparent proof being everywhere.

Bullying is constantly happening, everyone bullies, or at least most do. Whether it's among races, sexual orientations, religions, it doesn't matter, bullying happens and we seriously need to figure out a way to stop this. But even if we're saying something bad about someone and they don't hear it, that's still bullying. It's just so beyond ridiculous that we can't just be nice to one another but the fact is, because we're all unique, people have to attack those who are different from them because it makes them feel powerful and in control.

That's what I think, but what about you?

Talk to you all soon!
Sean