Tall Girl Ramblings

I think most people aren't racist but I think nearly everyone discriminates. And I think this is a very difficult part of our genetic make up to control and manage.

Definition of discrimination: treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favor of or against, a person or thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit.

Discrimination comes from the same part of our brain that lets us remember what we've learned. Something stimulates our learning, we categorize it based on what we already know and then we use that information to recall later. For example, brand/product awareness. If we have a negative experience with a company or product, we will likely associate bad feelings with that product in general. I used depo (the birth control shot) in early college years and essentially had my period for an. entire. year. That's right. How do you think I react now when someone mentions birth control via shot? I don't care if is the new and improved version 10000.0 that also gives you super powers. I'm not having my fucking period for another calendar year. I learned from my experience and projected my views of that product infinitely as my opinion.

We do it with brands ("I hate depo"), we do it with food ("Seafood sucks"), we do it with places ("St. Louis was totally boring.") and we do it with people ("People that go to starbucks everyday are name-brand whores").

Our brain will naturally take similar information and categorize it together. Stereotypes are always born somewhere. You can't tell me that everyone doesn't have a preconceived notion about someone they meet within moments of saying hello for the first time.

My plane lands in New Mexico and I immediately think, "Hm...this looks a lot like Dallas. I hated Dallas." I will see New Mexico through the filter that I hated Dallas and New Mexico is probably a lot like Dallas. Things that support that notion will go through the filter. Things that contradict that notion will bounce off and not be remembered. I'm not talking about what I do. I'm talking about what you do. I'm talking about what humans do.

Without stereotyping, we couldn't project opinions based on experience. If we realized that our stereotypes were useless, each experience - each person - each place - would be treated like a clean slate.

My communications teacher shared a story about a girl that took a ride with a clean cut guy, wearing a suit, driving a nice car and got raped and nearly killed as a result. She went with him because he "looked like a missionary". If a scrubby mechanic with dirty fingernails, long unkempt hair and a jalopy car pulled up know that chick would have peaced out. She would have been down the corner and around the block running for her life before the man could finish "Want a ride?".

I suppose this post accurately reflects the title of my blog "Ramblings". I just hate when people say they don't discriminate. Everyone does. It's how the human brain processes new information. What we shouldn't do is allow our stereotypes to dictate how we are going to experience a new person, place or thing.

I still think that people that go to starbucks everyday are largely name brand whores. (Note my use of "largely" instead of "all" indicates growth...baby steps.)