(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Don't wear stereotypes [1]
['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']
Date: 2025-03-30
Stop wearing costumes designed by your enemies.
That is all stereotypes are costumes; that you did not design, choose, have input into or even like. So why are you wearing them?
This tendency developed in the last couple of decades, of minorities and marginalized groups, proudly slipping into the stereotypes that the culture has built around them, is also by design. So is the misguided notion that we can “reclaim and reverse” the sting of negative bias by adopting them. The problem is, we have never claimed them to begin with.
Stereotypes are by design, a costume made for you by those in power, they depict you in the most insidious and negative light in their culture, particularly in art, for film, books, music is consumed by most without too much digging and those stereotypes become imbedded in the subconscious of the consumer without them realizing it.
You slipping into the costume made for you by your enemies has only served to reinforce the image they created for you and given it more credence and validity. Never let anyone manipulate you into adopting a costume they made for you without your input or desire. Why are you choosing to wear that?
Visualize every stereotype bears the brand of the oppressor and that is what you are promoting by wearing it, the brand of the oppressor. It is not something to be claimed, reclaimed, owned or whatever, it is something to be discarded by the side of the road or in a fire. We are not stereotypes, we never were and never will be and that alone has scared them more than any other action we could have taken.
It is our very nature that has pushed them to the brink of madness, our resilience, our strengths, our talents, we have overcome every obstacle and outshined them in every field and that has had more impact than the childish gotchas of adopting their stereotypes to mock them.
Your ethnicity is grounded into your history and your own culture, wear that proudly.
#ThePoet
Muriel Vieux – March 30th, 2025, ©All rights reserved
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/3/30/2313448/-Don-t-wear-stereotypes?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=latest_community&pm_medium=web
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
