i think that before the 60's, people didn't use very much discretion or insight in dealing with others
- they relied on their generalizations TOO much. whites in segregated america, the nazis, even everyday joe and martha saw everything in black and white.
the result was to try to get people to make NO generalizations at all in an attempt to correct those wrongs.
so now you have to speak blandly about everything and embrace the idea of total relativism, everything is right, no one is evil or wrong, just sick, oppressed or misunderstood.
you can't hold that any schema is applicable to a group either. in it's extreme form you can't even acknolwedge the existence of "groups" per se.
the irony is, the same clueless plebians that buy this total relativistic nonsense are probably the same lazy bastards that bought sight-unseen into the last failed racial paradigm! it's laziness.
i think the modern reality is somewhere in between, whether that's popular or not. the 60's were 40 years ago, it's time to move on to a closer approximation of the truth.
generalizations are instinctual and not necessarily bad, BUT (here's the key), you have to be able to dismiss those generalizations if they fail to describe what you are generalizing about.
EX: almost every border collie i have ever met since i was a kid has tried to bite me (true story)
based on that - how should i react when i see a border collie?
should i offer my neck and sing kumbaya with him??? No- obviously, i should be prepared be bit or i'm the dumbest and least instinctually adept mammal on earth!
what if he wags his tail and tries to be my friend should i still be afraid?
of course not, the generalization no longer applies because i have new facts. furthermore, my generalizations in the future have to include this positive event as well.
is it my fault that he isn't warmly accepted? is it my defect that i don't expect the best from him?
hell no - it's the fault of the countless friggin mean-ass border collies who have attacked me in the past, THEY determined our relationship through their actions damnit.
which elucidates the other pitfall, which is not to buy or let someone force upon you a premade set of generalizations that you have no factual backup for - then you are a racist, or at least lazy.
if 10 others tell you they have had the same experience with border collies, then you have to consider that, but you should still come to your own conclusions. it all takes a lot of mental work.
if your generalizations come from real experiences and you are ready to abandon them the instant they don't apply, then you aren't doing anything wrong and who cares what others say about you!
i doubt most people have even tried to sort out the truth - even attempting to find it gives you an advantage.
i've seen you consider sidewalk dynamics for cryin out loud, so you get credit for at least considering the topic- heheh good show.
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