Group v. Personal

[DanaC]

I think it's just about the difference between how we interact with ideas and large groups, and how we interact at an individual level. That's perfectly natural imo, and is just to do with how we categorise the world around us.

I know lots of people who are borderline racists. They may have a very negative view of Pakistanis generally, yet get along fine with, like and even defend the Pakistani shop owner they've known for years. That's because the shop owner occupies a different mental category. Yes he is Pakistani, but he is known as an individual and therefore isn't an anonymous example of the disliked group. He has shifted from the 'Pakistani' category, to the 'people I know' category.

[piercehawkeye45]

Originally Posted by DanaC

I know lots of people who are borderline racists. They may have a very negative view of Pakistanis generally, yet get along fine with, like and even defend the Pakistani shop owner they've known for years. That's because the shop owner occupies a different mental category. Yes he is Pakistani, but he is known as an individual and therefore isn't an anonymous example of the disliked group. He has shifted from the 'Pakistani' category, to the 'people I know' category.

I see that a lot.

Person 1: " I hate Somalis. They are all worthless"
Person 2: "But what about Abdi? He is pretty cool."
Person 1: "Well he doesn't really act Somali"


I don't think this is necessarily hypocritical but just comes down to how we generalize and stereotype groups. People don't like certain stereotyped characteristics of a "group" so they naturally generalize everyone in that "group" as having that characteristic with no other "better" traits. Then when they meet someone in that "group", that one, either doesn't have that characteristic, or two, can relate with that person well in other areas, they view them as different from the rest of the "group".