Brazil Times

Stereotypes: Mentors and Misconceptions
Posted Friday, January 2, at 8:12 AM

Back when we sat in the class room we learned about those who made great strides in the areas of science, the arts and humanitarianism. We only learn about a small part of the individuals however in their field of expertise or the reason they were "put on a pedestal" in science and history books. Due to that, some of us even might go as far as to say that they wished that they could emulate some of their accomplishments during their own lifetime.

Many times we also use this same method to rank others and yes, even judge or discard them completely when we are taught by our faith that we are all brothers (and sisters) andour humanity makes us a complexity of both good and bad. I for one have not yet encountered an all bad or an all good person in my life. While I might like or dislike their known behavior or feel that society needs to be protected from their destructive behavior, I must realize that I am only seeing a portion of the whole and it would be ignorant not to realize that there is so much more to an individual that I don't know about.

When we read about arrests and discard that entire person in our mind, it is like discarding one member of a family when another does wrong. Yet we do it. When we say someone must be good because he is a Christian, are we saying by omission that one can't be good if he is not a Christian or are we saying that because he is Christian he cannot do anything bad? Either way we would be mistaken but maybe only because we do not know enough about the person to know him entirely.

What about the pregnant teen? Why do we judge her more severely than her partner who committed the same act? Moreover why do we not praise the teen for making the decision to let the evidence of her mistake be displayed as thatreally reflects a positive character trait? Instead many times we send the message that the act is ok by only punishing those who are caught at it when we are well aware that the act is committed much more often by so many more.

Here is a list of people. Your assessment of them will reveal what you learnedabout them. Once you realize that these too are complex human beings who are capable of doing great works, they might help you to also realize that others are more than what is displayed on the surface and are just as worthy, even if we currently only see something about them we don't like or are uncomfortable with.. maybe because we don't really know them well enough. Think about that the next time you see someone wearing a turban, holding prayer beads, or wearing a yarmulke. Prejudice isn't as simple as black and white.

Margaret Mead, Anthropologist

Michelangelo, Artist

Rachel Carson, Environmentalist

Allen Ginsberg, Author

Gene Robinson, Episcopal Bishop

Mark Bingham, 9/11 Hero

Greg Louganis, Olympic champion

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