Presidential election, 2016

[Bob Butler 54]

(01-08-2017, 11:58 PM)pbrower2a Wrote: Ugly as stereotypes are, they almost have some factual basis with a distinctive cause behind them.

Sometimes there are elements of truth in stereotypes, which are sometimes dated.  Other stereotypes are just plain ugly and insulting.  The old pre Bruce Lee stereotype of orientals proposed they were half blind, wore coke bottle thick glasses, and had buck teeth.  While I am fond of Breakfast at Tiffany's, Micky Rooney's pseudo oriental character is a disgrace.  

Even the stereotypes that may have significant truth in them can be dangerous guides for interacting with people.  I found Hillbilly Eulogy to be an interesting read, a view of coal country and rust belt Scotts Irish culture that is at the same nostalgic, sympathetic and totally damning.  It gives a fascinating glimpse of the culture from the inside that has helped me understand a lot.  However, it would be dangerous should one encounter an individual from that part of the world who portrays a few of the symptoms from Hillbilly Eulogy to assume that said individual is a total embodiment of everything covered in the book.  Similarly, it seems wrong to assume that a conservative poster from that part of the world who touches a few aspects of Hillbilly culture is an all out worst case representative of what the Eulogy author was trying to describe.  (It is wrong to beat one's wife unless she throws the first blow.)