The Mouse
02-27-2003, 01:31 PM
Society’s false stereotyping of professional fighters not only affects the views of the fighters, but the views of family and friends of the fighters as well. Misrepresented and misunderstood, athletes walk through the contagious plague of stereotyped views laid upon them by our society’s knowledge; or lack there of. The creations of society’s facts, which are based on ignorance, yield a painful truth that branches out through everyone that’s affiliated within the world of the fighters. Though labeled and misunderstood, fighters must deal with society’s stereotypes and the effects they have on a fighter’s family and friends as well.
When the general public of the socially accepted ‘norm’ view fighters, they see the athletes as well as the people around the fighter. Though it is unjust to label the fighter with a stereotype, it is also just as harmful to label the surrounding people of that particular fighter. For some reason the general population feels that if they feed their lies of ignorance to one individual, (in this case being the fighter), that it won’t branch out and effect anyone else around them. I used the word “plague” a moment ago for the sole reason that it can be most identified with the stereotyping, as they have a lot in common with each other. Both are extremely contagious and effect more people than they were intended to, they are silent and creep through the shadows like a robber in a sleeping house, and both pose equal threat to innocent and undeserving people. Once the knowledge of the lie gets back to the victim, the victim usually wonders how they fell prey to something so ignorant. “Stereotypes are a kind of gossip about the world, a gossip that makes us prejudge people before we ever lay eyes on them.” Robert L. Heilbroner hints to us in that quote that if the general public actually took the time to lay their eyes onto the stereotypes and view them for what they really were, we wouldn’t be so hasty to make blind assumptions about the fighters or the people associated with the fighter.
Brent Staples asked in an exposition of his, “What is it within us that gives birth to such antisocial behavior?” His question of antisocial behavior, which leads to stereotyping, is usually answered by ignorance and closed-mindedness of society. In the socially accepted norm of today we tend to rely on easy lies, rather than digging deeper into the topic in order to view all sides before passing a judgment. It’s nothing new; in fact our antisocial behavior has been around ever since the human race was created. It’s a natural human defense mechanism for something that our mind doesn’t understand, thus creating stereotypes for self-preservation and the hope to understand something faster and easier than we would otherwise. Defense mechanism or not, it’s still a constant everyday problem that needs more attention as time goes on. The only way to beat this is a community outreach solution that would inform the general public of the many sides to their judgments, which are based on one-sided sources of information. By informing the public of the true identity of the fighter and athletes, we would reduce the ignorant stereotypes of both the fighter and the people he is associated with. An example I would use to describe this to someone face-to-face would be the example of a climber climbing a tall tree. The climber can climb to the first branch, and get a nice view of the surrounding hillside. Depending on how lazy the climber is or how high he is willing to climb, he will be able to see different view points of the hillside from the different levels of each tree branch that line the tree. He may be content at the first tree branch and not want to climb any further, (which can sadly be compared to most of today’s society). The second option is to climb a little bit higher and sit on each tree branch before he chooses which branch will yield the best view, thus giving him the best view and in the long run making him much happier. Today’s society needs a little encouragement in order to climb to the next tree branch. We need to inform them that there are different ways to look at a situation, if they are willing to put in a little bit more work and be a little bit more open-minded.
The only thing that slows down the open-minded solution that I state above, is the bandwagon that most of corporate America jumps onto. Most of the people that are against professional athletes and form the ignorant stereotypes, are middle to high-class people who are too engulfed in their own lives and their idea of the “American Dream.” Very rarely will you see a CAO that follows and understands the truth behind the stereotypes of the fighters. A majority of fight-fans are the low to middle class of society that can see past the stereotypes and lies of ignorance. I would give anything in the world to see business men in suits and ties sitting ring-side getting into the fights as much as the usual fans, into the fights that I’d like to be labeled as sport rather than barbaric. I’m talking about a hybrid of society’s people; an equal combination of social status and race that would know better than believe in ignorant people’s lazy judgments and stereotypes based on false representation.
There’s no doubt that our society’s stereotypes effect both the fighters as well as the people that the fighters are associated with. A simple stereotype may produce shadows that reach far and wide, harming the truth it covers. But by shedding light onto the shadows, we can open up the minds of society and show them what lies underneath. Like everything else within creation, stereotypes will eventually die with evolution and new ones will sprout up. They will hope to cast wider shadows upon the easily influenced human race. But like the strong race we are, we will help each other see the truth once more and lead the few of us that live in darkness, into the light of truth. We may lose a few battles, but we will win the war and remain victorious through the darkness of petty stereotypes based on temporary ignorance of society.
When the general public of the socially accepted ‘norm’ view fighters, they see the athletes as well as the people around the fighter. Though it is unjust to label the fighter with a stereotype, it is also just as harmful to label the surrounding people of that particular fighter. For some reason the general population feels that if they feed their lies of ignorance to one individual, (in this case being the fighter), that it won’t branch out and effect anyone else around them. I used the word “plague” a moment ago for the sole reason that it can be most identified with the stereotyping, as they have a lot in common with each other. Both are extremely contagious and effect more people than they were intended to, they are silent and creep through the shadows like a robber in a sleeping house, and both pose equal threat to innocent and undeserving people. Once the knowledge of the lie gets back to the victim, the victim usually wonders how they fell prey to something so ignorant. “Stereotypes are a kind of gossip about the world, a gossip that makes us prejudge people before we ever lay eyes on them.” Robert L. Heilbroner hints to us in that quote that if the general public actually took the time to lay their eyes onto the stereotypes and view them for what they really were, we wouldn’t be so hasty to make blind assumptions about the fighters or the people associated with the fighter.
Brent Staples asked in an exposition of his, “What is it within us that gives birth to such antisocial behavior?” His question of antisocial behavior, which leads to stereotyping, is usually answered by ignorance and closed-mindedness of society. In the socially accepted norm of today we tend to rely on easy lies, rather than digging deeper into the topic in order to view all sides before passing a judgment. It’s nothing new; in fact our antisocial behavior has been around ever since the human race was created. It’s a natural human defense mechanism for something that our mind doesn’t understand, thus creating stereotypes for self-preservation and the hope to understand something faster and easier than we would otherwise. Defense mechanism or not, it’s still a constant everyday problem that needs more attention as time goes on. The only way to beat this is a community outreach solution that would inform the general public of the many sides to their judgments, which are based on one-sided sources of information. By informing the public of the true identity of the fighter and athletes, we would reduce the ignorant stereotypes of both the fighter and the people he is associated with. An example I would use to describe this to someone face-to-face would be the example of a climber climbing a tall tree. The climber can climb to the first branch, and get a nice view of the surrounding hillside. Depending on how lazy the climber is or how high he is willing to climb, he will be able to see different view points of the hillside from the different levels of each tree branch that line the tree. He may be content at the first tree branch and not want to climb any further, (which can sadly be compared to most of today’s society). The second option is to climb a little bit higher and sit on each tree branch before he chooses which branch will yield the best view, thus giving him the best view and in the long run making him much happier. Today’s society needs a little encouragement in order to climb to the next tree branch. We need to inform them that there are different ways to look at a situation, if they are willing to put in a little bit more work and be a little bit more open-minded.
The only thing that slows down the open-minded solution that I state above, is the bandwagon that most of corporate America jumps onto. Most of the people that are against professional athletes and form the ignorant stereotypes, are middle to high-class people who are too engulfed in their own lives and their idea of the “American Dream.” Very rarely will you see a CAO that follows and understands the truth behind the stereotypes of the fighters. A majority of fight-fans are the low to middle class of society that can see past the stereotypes and lies of ignorance. I would give anything in the world to see business men in suits and ties sitting ring-side getting into the fights as much as the usual fans, into the fights that I’d like to be labeled as sport rather than barbaric. I’m talking about a hybrid of society’s people; an equal combination of social status and race that would know better than believe in ignorant people’s lazy judgments and stereotypes based on false representation.
There’s no doubt that our society’s stereotypes effect both the fighters as well as the people that the fighters are associated with. A simple stereotype may produce shadows that reach far and wide, harming the truth it covers. But by shedding light onto the shadows, we can open up the minds of society and show them what lies underneath. Like everything else within creation, stereotypes will eventually die with evolution and new ones will sprout up. They will hope to cast wider shadows upon the easily influenced human race. But like the strong race we are, we will help each other see the truth once more and lead the few of us that live in darkness, into the light of truth. We may lose a few battles, but we will win the war and remain victorious through the darkness of petty stereotypes based on temporary ignorance of society.