A Syrian refugee is responsible for the terrorist attack in France, leaving every other country in fear– including our own. When the people of Syria want to find a better home than what they have, the U.S. denies them because a Syrian was involved in a terrorist attack. This shows the stereotypical color of the U.S.

People all around are stereotyped for what their kind, race, or sex is. This kind of issue makes the people of the U.S. conceited and unfriendly to each other based on what they perceive each other to be– and not really getting to know who they are. This is why stereotyping anyone or anything is wrong.

Stereotyping is defined as a widely held idea of a particular type of person or thing.  It is not hard to see  how this word ties in with the U.S. Articles in the Los Angeles Times revealed that people are offended and even hurt by stereotypes, including Jeremy Stacy who was stereotyped about being a homosexual. A guy that asked him a question about his sexuality said “Anyone who has slept with men must be gay- even if he had also slept with women”. This stereotype, among others, defaces people as a whole and leaves them feeling like the world all look at them the same way.

This kind of stereotyping doesn’t just happen with the kind of people but also the race. The case of Michael Brown showed the worst of police officers, or what we stereotyped them to be. A article by the New York Times said “the shooting [of Michael Brown] prompted protests that roiled the area for weeks”. The protests were all prompted because a white police officer that shot Michael Brown and many believed the white policemen in the U.S. are all just like him. This stereotype puts a heavy load on police officers across the country on whether they are doing the right thing when arresting a black teenager. This kind of pressure makes our criminal justice system put a question mark on what the right and wrong things are in the job title.

Stereotypes of any kind can be bad for today’s society. Whether it is just for one person or a group, it affects everyone as a whole. Today with the latest “uncivil actions” of police officers and college riots based off of stereotypes, it is easy to fall under the category of a stereotypical person that sees one person as the other. For today’s society to be better, a new wave of action on stereotyping needs to be taken.

Many people have credited stereotyping though. John Derby Shire, of the American Psychological Association, has said that stereotyping gives us a general look on different groups in society. On his website, johnderbyshire.com, he goes into detail of how this helps us more than it hurts us. Even with the studies he has found, it doesn’t share how stereotyping gives a person their own individual characteristics and personality. Without telling that, it is easily seen that stereotyping is still hurting the people today.

Stereotyping has no true benefit. It creates chaos around us and lets nobody really discover the characteristics of a person. The only way to stop stereotyping is to make a civil protest to Congress on this issue to push for a bill that would end these kind of stereotypes around the country.

This issue is no laughing matter and is hurting people all around us. For us to be a better country, Congress must take action. Making a type of bill for this would not only benefit those people suffering, but also the nation as a whole.