Stereotyped?

[SHADOWFOX]

Folks,

I got a question for you. Have you ever been stereotyped? Can you think of a time when you were positively or negatively stereotyped that had nothing to do with race, religion or age? Just curious.

Thanks,

[MikeMcCoy]

The only time I know of is when I got my one and only calls to jury duty. There was a bunch of DUI type trials and when I told him I was career military, the lawyer doing the interviews told me I was excused. I never did figure out if that was a good or bad thing.

[ChrisD]

Chris,

I have been working in IT for 15 years and for a good majority of that time, I have been writing stuff that does not directly produce working code: project plans, project schedules, business requirements, functional specs, test plans, test scripts, etc.

A good majority of those 15 years was also in consulting, so everytime I walked into a project kickoff meeting and it was my turn to introduce myself and my role in the project, developers' eyes would usually roll. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but it amuses me how quickly they realized they actually needed someone to tell them what to do.

[DonHo]

Well I've had a couple of experiences with local(small town) police when I was a teenager that didn't result in a ticket but an older person would not have had the same "talks".

OTOH, now that i've lived long enough to be an offical "old coot", I'm sure I sometimes get better treatment because of my age

DonHo

[dkerfoot]

I spent nine years in the Navy and was stereotyped as a drunken womanizer. Notice I never said I was unfairly stereotyped - just that I was stereotyped...

[Black wallnut]

The list for me could become lengthy. Truck driver, fly fisherman, Boy Scout, Scout leader, gun owner, hunter, college student..etc. Not all of them have been bad, many stereotypes were based on assumptions that were not exactly even close to reality.

[Thom2]

The list for me could become lengthy. Truck driver, fly fisherman, Boy Scout, Scout leader, gun owner, hunter, college student..etc. Not all of them have been bad, many stereotypes were based on assumptions that were not exactly even close to reality.

you forgot "Dispatcher" and "Slacker" ....

'course the assemptions that go with those two would probably be pretty close to 'reality' ...


(GD&R)

[ragswl4]

The only time I know of is when I got my one and only calls to jury duty. There was a bunch of DUI type trials and when I told him I was career military, the lawyer doing the interviews told me I was excused. I never did figure out if that was a good or bad thing.

Same thing happened to me three times. I guess they feel that the military career background puts us in a group of folks who follow rules/laws regardless of circumstance, therefore-excused.

Funny though, I was picked as a juror on a drug related trial and the lawyers knew of my background. We found the slug guilty after a 1/2 day trial and 5 days in the jury room. Long story.

[RodKirby]

For those approaching 65 -

"Others" will assume - because you're 65,

1. You are deaf!
2. Your brains have fallen out!

I must confess, item 2 can be useful at times

[tedkitch]

While I was in college I had long hair and played guitar in a band. Every professor I had stereotyped me as a drug abusing wastoid. It was actually helpful though as they set their expectations so low that I was easily able to surpass them.

While I was in Uruguay, during a visit of President Bush in '92, I was attacked and beaten within an inch of my life for being an American. They didn't like our role in the first Gulf War. Uruguay is socialist with a very strong communist underground. I was spit on and called names many times while I was there.

BTW Rod, #1 could be very useful also!

[leehljp]

For those approaching 65 -

"Others" will assume - because you're 65,

1. You are deaf!
2. Your brains have fallen out!

I must confess, item 2 can be useful at times

IF the Stereotyping IS accurate, Is it still stereotyping? I resemble those remarks very closely.

[mycatisretarded]

Woodworker. Ok everyone out there who is not a middle-aged, balding, white guy raise your hand. (ever see Woodcraft advertise on MTV?).

[leehljp]

What is the difference in "profiling" and "stereotyping"? (brains falling out here cause I don't know the fine difference, if there is any.)

I have been in several polls because I fit a certain demographic, which to me is profiling or stereotyping. This happened when others were obviously overlooked. I see polls and targeted product testing on occasion in which the targets fit a very specific group - young women, young people only, foreigners only, families with children (if you don't have a child with you, you get skipped over) elderly, middle age, etc. I see it in the US on occasion but often in this Japanese society.

[ChrisD]

Woodworker. Ok everyone out there who is not a middle-aged, balding, white guy raise your hand. (ever see Woodcraft advertise on MTV?).

I'm 36, Asian, and balding: Does that count?

My son actually calls the Woodworking Shows the "Old White Guy Convention".

[TB Roye]

Rod

So can #1 Being 65 both of them work for me. For me being sterotyped as Grandpa is fine.

Tom