In life, we all grow up in communities that have beliefs and practices that tend to create a form of identity for the given communities. These identities can be positive or negative depending on the effects they have on members of the given society.
Some communities have some characteristics, which can be attributed to them due to some practices that some of the members have, which should not be used to describe the whole society (Saraglou, 2011, 432). Most of these attributes are negative.
They tend to be prejudicial to them. One of them is stereotyping. A developing stereotype that I have been guilty of holding is that Muslims, especially of Arab extract, are terrorists (Brandt, 2013, p. 300). I have encountered this stereotype in my life. It has led to the members of these groups being viewed with suspicion. Another stereotype I have encountered is that fat people are lazy.
Naturally, many fat or big people labor a lot in most of the activities they do. They tend to be slower relative to many lean bodied people. This misconception has therefore led to many people believing that they are lazy thus making them a subject for jokes and ridicule. The third stereotype I have come across is that salesclerks are conmen.
By nature of their work, any salesperson is supposed to convince customers why they should buy whatever the sales representatives are selling (Campbell, 2011, p. 435). The fact that individuals realize later that they were convinced to buy what they actually never needed or had to buy at a much higher price makes them view salesmen as conmen because the individuals usually feel conned at the end of the day.
The Argument in Support
The recent past has seen an increase in terrorist activities in the world. This case has become a global problem for society to tackle. In most of these cases, the perpetrators of terrorist activities have been identified as Muslims from the financiers, planners, and the executors of the plots (Brandt, 2013, p. 300).
This argument is further affirmed by most terrorists proclaiming that they are doing it for Allah by fighting infidels who are presumed to be anybody who is a non-Muslim. This case has therefore cemented the notion that Muslims are terrorists and that no one can tell from their faces and hence the caution that people have when dealing with them.
The notion that fat people are lazy is because many of them avoid doing activities that would require them to spend a lot of energy and movement (Campbell, 2011, p. 435). In many cases, they prefer working from one position, specifically sitting positions.
Many fat people cannot exert themselves the way other slender people do especially when it comes to movement because they tend to grow tired fast thus ending up doing much less work relative to what their counterparts can do. This case paints them as lazy people. It has become an identity for fat people. Salespersons are another group of stereotyped people by being branded conmen.
In most cases, people feel cheated concerning the value of the items they have been convinced to buy from sales representatives who work to get a bigger commission on whatever they sale. By getting the highest value of an item from the individual, salesclerks are always deemed conmen because they will convince the buyer to buy with all assurances that the price is the true value of the item.
Mistakes in the Argument
The notion that all Muslims are terrorists is wrong because just a fraction of the Muslim nation so far has been identified as terrorists. Out of the millions of Muslim adherents, less than 200,000 have ever been identified as terrorists. Furthermore, many Muslims are peace loving having come out to condemn acts of terrorism in the name of Islam.
Thus, it is wrong to stereotype Muslims as terrorists (Saraglou, 2011, p. 488). Although the Quran advocates for Jihad against infidels, it should be put in mind that the Quran was written a long time ago and that the context was then different. It is also a mistake to stereotype fat people as lazy because each individual performs tasks according to his or her abilities.
Our speed is determined by the amount of weight on our bodies as well as the distribution of the same weight on the bodies (Campbell, 2011, p. 440). In many cases, the speed of fat people is proportional to their weight. If compared to slender people, they would be as fast as the slim people in doing tasks. Therefore, their ability to perform tasks is simply relative.
Fat people should not be tagged as lazy. Lastly, sales representatives have a duty in convincing a potential client to buy their wares at a certain price. It is not their mistake when an individual buyer buys out of ignorance and/or at exorbitant prices.
It also not their duty to inform buyers on the prices because everyone is supposed to have knowledge of whatever items he or she wants to buy only if he or she does a little bit of research (Campbell, 2011, p. 441). Salespersons earn their living by convincing people to buy. One thing they never do is to force anyone to buy from them.
Reference List
Brandt, P. Y. (2013). Psychological Aspects of the Role of Religion in Identity Construct. Integrative Psychological & Behavioral Science, 1(1), 299-303.
Campbell, C. (2011). Seeing is Eating: How and When Activating a Negative Stereotype Increases Stereotype-Conductive Behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 38(3), 431-444.
Saraglou, V. (2011). Metastereotypes of Groups with Opposite Religiuos Views: Believers and Non-Believers. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 21(6), 484-498.