I'm willing to incline and agree that stereotypes are in fact indirect survival mechanisms based on experience. However, and historically I mention this is that African-Americans are such (prejudice, stereotypes of others) based on reciprocal fashion. Remember, historically African-Americans were broughyt here by the thousands and mutiplied buy the millions and were hanged, burned, tortured, raped.
I remember in undergraduate study learning about capitalism which a lot of white protestants believe in say in an excerpt I read that "blacks are in their position because of their circumstance, which they caused" well the circumstance in America which blacks didnt cause historically is that blacks came, and were freed in a disadvantaged position. Civil War? One of the early criterias to be free was to fight in the civil war. even after blacks were freed blacks were treated unequally. So you understand that decades after decades of disadvantages and racism experienced by blacks, asians, and latinos (I exclude Irish since they can and have passed for white and there is no distinct phenotypical difference from the American majority) would cause blacks to socialize themselves to be stereotypycial against the majority.
At USC (Univ. of souther California) we call white media that which is an unfair portrayal of minorities in stereotypical fashion which will instill a crystallized messaged of how one minority group will act. Hence the clutch of a purse or the locking of a car door. It is possible to actualize a self-fulfilling prophecy if it is believed, and unfortunately blacks have fulfilled this stereotype by the disadvantages given. Obama is no excuse actually since, many (whites) have trivilized his presidency by identifying his bi-0racial background) so until we dont trivialize it we cannto acheive success beyond someones phenotype.
I'm not justifying reverse racism only identifying the precursors......Blacks didnt immigrate here to be racist, nor was North America the origin of African-Americans. Although stereotypes in naturalistic fashion such as classifying veggies and dangerous animals beneficial, I highly doubt classifying blacks, with rap, guns, "sluts and hoes" hardly a survival mechanism. In fact I am willing to challenge your position as to how stereotypes upon an ethnic class beneficial to survival because in fact I am willing to say that stereotyping over a million or so human beings on the basis of media projection or even .000001% per experience isn't valid to classify anyone based on their phenotype. In fact, as an African-American and future doctor of psychology I am willing to go as far and say that such comments are the result of validating one's prejudices.....Of course I don't view that of you but making a moderate challenge to your position.
