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Re: stereotypes
>Whatever Minh's obersavations about Vietnamese (in this country) may or
>may not be accurate. I don't know enough vietnamese people to judge.
>Obviously many would agree with him. He is Vietnamese so he should know.
>What I observe from many of the responses is that people still don't
>understand what a "stereotype"is. It"s the aggregate of characteristics
>of a group. They do exist. Does every individual in that group posess
>all these characteristics. Of course not. Do most, yes. Those who get
>upset about stereotypes are alway pointing to the "exeption". Exeptions
>do not make a type. We are all affraid of having to be judge by
>stereotypes, especially when they are pejorative. But if we belong to a
>group, and we all do, we cannot avoid it. Eg. if I meet a Vietnamese I
>may presume he/she speaks Vietnamese. the person may not. But that
>doesn't invalidate my presumption. Should I have presumed that the
>person would speak Greek? Obviously this is a very limited discussion of
>stereotypes. We have to live with the stereotype of the group we belong
>to. If we don't carry any of the traits of the group it's or burden to
>prove it. We have to expect that others will presume we do.
Very well said! We shouldn't get so worked up over stereotypes. Often at
worst they are amusing. At best, they help us understand people. Of course
there are times when people use sterotypes to belittle other people. But
this to is the exception I believe. Actually, I haven't noticed any harsh
reaction to this whole discussion of Vietnamese stereotypes on the vn-gblf.
I think that we, gay and lesbian people, tend to be more enlightened.
Bruce
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