@sneaver Said
Yes, I agree there is nothing wrong with not seeing stereotypes. The problem is that everyone sees them ( even you). I asked you in 2 separate posts to imagine what comes to mind when you think of certain types of people. For example, a basketball player or a gymnast. You never answered what these people look like. I assume either you forgot to answer or you avoided answering because you didn't want to give an answer. The point is that any answer is a stereotype. If you say a basketball player is tall, that could be a stereotype. If you say a gymnast is short, that is a stereotype too. So, if you have a brain, you have stereotypes. The goal is to recognize them as wrong. I don't know how more clearly I can explain this to you again. There is a difference between a stereotype entering your mind and actually believing what enters your mind. When a stereotype enters my head I do brush it aside as being wrong, but my goal here is to trace why it got there in the first place. We all have different histories and experiences that shape our thoughts. Do you finally get what I am saying? I hope so.
I think people are getting caught up in the word stereotype which over the years has received a negative connotation even though it is a perfectly acceptable phenomenon. Its an attempt to be politically correct and IMO, being pc has limited view as well.
Today when many people think of the word stereotype, they often associate (key word associate) it with two words: wrong and assumption. And this is funny in itself as assuming all stereotypes as being a wrong "thing" is an assumption in itself and is therefore wrong.
I think in this post, mind association may be a better word as a stereotype is an extension of it.