Bad Experiences and Stereotyping
We encounter different kinds of people every day — the good, the bad, and the ugly. (Cowboy music playing in the background). Some are fun, some are ok while some make you question why they even exist in the first place. For some people, I may be that type of person but that’s ok. I have done a few things that I am proud of. However, the problem with people who give us bad experiences is that as soon as we experience something bad we want to make sure it doesn’t happen again which tempts us into making generalizations/stereotypes. We can choose any stupid basis and make generalizations such as race, nationality, locality, gender, color, or religion and the list goes on.
Stereotyping or generalization is a psychological defense mechanism to avoid getting hurt in the future. But we get to choose to do it or not. When my marriage failed I could have generalized and considered all women problematic while becoming a misogynist and a cold-ass serial killer but I am better than that, I started hating marriage.
The world these days is indeed challenging and trust can be applied only sparingly. A more suitable approach is to consider everyone a jerk until they prove otherwise but you don’t have to show that you don’t trust them. Observe and judge people, judge like the bloody chief justice of the Supreme Court but do it silently and just don’t pronounce the verdict…
