Stereotype: stereo + týpos = "solid impression"

Definition: generalized perception of first impressions

So why do we do this sort of thing? Perhaps our understanding, or even the meaning of this word, has changed in our day. From these small etymological definitions I can see something that's not so severe.

Stereotyping has grown to big for its own nest. You can watch shows like the Simpsons, Family Guy, or Reno 911 and see stereotypes in humourous form. You can watch politics and see them at their worst.

We are all guilty of this "sin", the wickedness of putting people into boxes just because the majority of people we see within such a box...well, actually fit. I remember moving to South Carolina and I just started working at Sears. Down here, there are two types of people who buy new rims for their vehicle. In fact, it's so easy to stereotype that I haven't seen anyone BUT these groups buy rims. The groups are either blacks with their cars jacked up so high they need a ladder to enter, or spanish speaking mexicans that I cannot communicate with no matter how hard I try. When we got 2 shipments of rims in, I asked who bought them. The assistant manager smiled and merely mouthed "guess."

We go onward to see more stereotyping in political schemes. It's obvious that most republicans are pro-life and most democrats are pro-choice. This is because of their voting recor and the statements each side makes on the issue. If I were to be talking to a republican and they mentioned that they were voting for McCain, I'd remark "oh, so you're pro-life." And I'd more than likely be correct.

Religion, however, is the one taboo area we cannot stereotype. I come from a right-winged baptist background, with Bible thumping on street corners and women damned to hell if they wear pants. The stereotypes for this group are generally easy to pick out and make fun of. While I wrote Just Another Christianity Hub, I was thinking solely on this group of people. While 77% of America claims to be Christian, many are in name only. If you even take 1/4 of this number, that leaves roughly 57% left over for "true" Christians. You mix this group into groups so diverse that each one has its stereotype: Mormons, Catholics, Orthodox [russian and greek], Presbyterians, Baptists, Charismatics, Covenants, Methodists, Lutherans, Episcopalians, Quakers, and Amish.

I most certainly have made the connection that that hub was directed at baptists, since that's the church I came from. Most baptists would mean more than 50% of about 10% of American Christians, roughly. Although that seems small, this is the primary group in evangelical votes when you tally it up. There are about 55 million registered republicans, at least there were at the last election. This means that of that 55 million, the general number registered from the baptist rank alone is 11 million. That's exactly 20% of the vote.

That stereotype, you know, the one saying most people in the voting group of evangelicals pair religion and politics? It's not too far off. Of this group which I am so familiar with, it is a safe thing to say that there is a large line connecting this group philosophically. The radical, right winged group that so easily aligns with Bob Jones University is not the majority. Or is it?

The fact remains that that 20% of voters is the decision making group. Many did not vote before Bush, but look at what we witnessed the last two elections when that small group spoke up!

And we do stereotype them, too. We call that group "evangelicals" and we associate that group with "most Christians" whether we like it that way or not. In fact, I'd put the blame on the media if it wasn't just so darn easy to do without them!

I openly apologise to anyone that was either offended or was caught in the crossfire of my previous hub. I did not intend to indict many of the Christians who I find to be a rational bunch, however it cannot be ignored that what I'm saying has much bearing. That 11 million dollar figure is actually a small number of radical righties. The number is probably closer to 20 million now, and that is no small amount of voters. Since only about 33% of America actually votes, 20 million is 20% of the entire voting base. It can be doubled to 40% of the republican voting base, making an enormous inpact on voting processes.

The stereotype: a group of people who believe if there isn't a Christian in office of the president, we're worse than sodom and gomorrah. I sat in a pew each week to hear a 'man of god' spew such filth from the pulpit. they paired Bush to the salvation of America and they called anyone left of him of satan.

Is that really that stereotypical, then, if I've sat and witnessed churches and pastors across the country come to a place called Bob Jones University to say the same exact thing time and time again? Maybe it isn't so stereotypical after all...or it is, and that's why I'm upset.

Once again, apologies to those who are upset from the last hub, but if you see where I'm coming from and investigate yourself, you'll find that "Jesus Camp" is as scary to a professing Christian as it is to atheists.

There is a large number of people who believe that the 77% of Christians are all people who not only agree, but are harmoniously coexisting. That is as far from the truth as apples are oranges. Like I said, I was pretty generous in the numbers I presented. I also made it clear before this hub in comments on other hubs that that was inspired by the church from whence I came.

Stereotyping is as human as it gets. We are people who need to classify people into classes, boxes, and graphs. I don't think it's a good thing, but it's certainly necessary to communicate to the larger masses in a way everyone understands.