Youth / Opinion : The Stereotyping Habit: Young People Try to Fight It

Stereotyping, not understanding, is too often the result of the volatile mix in Southern California schools: more than 80 different languages, dozens of wildly different racial, cultural, ethnic and and religious backgrounds. After all, students come to school from largely insular communities and go back to them at night. In this special edition of our Youth column, they talk of their experiences stereotyping and being stereotyped, and suggest ways that diversity can be made to produce harmony rather than hostility.

ABUReE DUGGAN

Junior, 16, St. Anthony’s High School, Long Beach

My mother is white and my father is black. I’ve experienced stereotyping (when I’ve had) discussions about being black. A lot of people feel my opinions are less valid than theirs because I’m not a “full” black. You still get called names like half-breed.

I used to get my hair done at this lady’s house. She always used to say, “A lot of people like you think that they’re better because your hair is like this--you have good hair, better hair than black people.” One day I said I thought my hair made me look like a pickaninny. She said, “You shouldn’t say that kind of thing.” But it was OK for her to call other blacks n------ if she wanted too, because she was black. But since I was mixed, I wasn’t allowed to say that.

I think mixed kids are left out. They’re not thought of as a separate group. You’re thought of as black if you’re mixed and that’s it. These kids go through identity problems. (We) need more recognition. (We) feel a lot of rejection. I think there should be more groups, like black heritage groups, biracial camp or self-help groups.

GALENA TREYBUSH

Senior, 17, Fairfax High School, Los Angeles

Sometimes people feel better by putting someone else down, and the easiest way to do it is with someone who does not speak English and is not going to talk back.

I remember when I went to junior high I did not speak English and people would ask me, “How are you” or something, and I would say, “I’m sorry, I don’t speak English,” and they would laugh. I was hurt. In my first week, I would come home every day from school crying, and I wanted to go back (to Russia). I remember in junior high, the way Russian people dressed, there would be a lot of “look at her, the way she’s dressed, she must be Russian.”

The stereotype about immigrants is that they don’t speak English, have no idea what’s going on, will not talk back or understand if you make fun of them, look like they’re from outer space, and they’re different from you--they do not feel what you feel.

DARRYL MEIGS

Eighth-grader, 12, Palms Junior High School, Los Angeles

There are 365 days in a year and each and every day I must confront my blackness.

Many black people on TV are portrayed through white people’s eyes; portrayed as violent, negative people. However, my life is surrounded by positive black male role models: my dad, my brother, uncles, grandfathers, and godfather. Physical proof that television portrayals are wrong, or at least unbalanced.

Television influences a lot of viewers’ impressions of black people. Newscasters many times choose to run criminal stories about black people. They make gang members seem like a typical group of black youths instead of the small minority they really are.

Not all of the negative images of black people are generated by whites. Some come from within our own race. Some youths falsely claim membership in gangs because they think it’s cool. I will reject these negative influences no matter where they come from.

TINA A. MENDOZA

Senior, 18, Belmont High School

When I say I’m in the honors class, people look at me in surprise. I was in a trig class. There were only about three Hispanics. When I didn’t understand something, they’d say, “Weren’t you paying attention?” They look as if I wasn’t able to understand the subject.

Racism has been going on forever. It goes on within the ethnicity itself. There are Hispanics that look down on Hispanics. We need to be seen as individuals and not as a pack.

SUNDANCE BEKINNIE

Eighth-grader, 13, East Middle School, Downey

I’m a full-blooded American Indian; half Sioux, one-quarter Navajo and one-quarter Chickasaw. People will say things like, “How!” They’ll shake your hands and make that weird noise come out. I think that’s racist.

(People) make fun of what they don’t understand. People call me a savage. And they ask me stuff like: “Do you pray to God?” They might say, “Is it true that you people really sacrifice yourselves to the sun god?” I usually don’t do anything about it. I just walk away.

I’m glad that Native Americans are getting into the movie business. Finally. For too long, everyone was making films about Native Americans that didn’t show the truth at all. They showed us as killers. But it’s not true. We’re very spiritual.

(To avoid stereotyping) learn about it. Don’t just put it out of your mind.

HAGIR NAHORAI

Junior, 16, University High School, Los Angeles

I am Iranian, and a lot of people think that all the Persians are rich, and when that question comes up to me, I get offended. I’m not rich myself, and I don’t like people thinking, “Oh, there’s a Persian guy, he must be rich.”

There are a lot of poor Persians. Our school is not that poor, but if you go to other schools, you can see that a lot of the Persians are struggling and their parents work hard for the money. People who think all Iranians are rich are feeling that you don’t belong; they’re thinking “he’s a rich guy,” and that we don’t belong to their kind of living. There’s hostility. I think it’s usually done out of jealousy.

Kids should talk more about their home life. Everybody is secretive about what their parents do, and how they live. It’s not good to be fake. If they ask you questions, don’t say, “Yeah, my dad’s a doctor, and I can afford all this stuff.” If you can’t you shouldn’t feel bad.

JESSICA CRETE

Senior, 17, Calvary Chapel High School, Santa Ana.

Today’s society has tagged Christians with the stereotype of being fanatical hypocrites that pre-judge everyone they meet. People need to understand that Christians are human, they are imperfect and make mistakes. The Bible says there is not one person who has been perfect, except for Jesus Christ.

HEATHER MCREA

Senior, 17, Century High School, Santa Ana

Santa Ana schools are often stereotyped as being infested with gang activities. Many times our campuses are shown in newspapers and on TV for gang shootings or because of low test scores or high dropout rates.

When many people think of the Santa Ana student, they see “gang-banger.” People never see the English as Second Language students who are working hard and going on to universities and colleges or contributing to their communities. They don’t see the student who fought the pressures of joining a gang in order to go to school and work for an education. They don’t see the normal middle-class student who is excelling, with many receiving local and state honors.

JAMILA A. WILLIAMS

Freshman, 14, Santa Monica High School

I don’t mean to stereotype but sometimes I judge people by first impressions. Once, I stereotyped a white girl because I thought she was acting black to make friends. Once I got to know her, I learned she was a sweet person and that she acted the way she did because she had grown up around blacks. That changed my mind.

I can understand why people do it, but it’s not right.

IVAN RIOS

Senior, 17, Garfield High School.

When I was in San Francisco, I went to an Anglo neighborhood. My brother and I walked inside a shopping center restaurant and I asked for a napkin. The clerk said, “You guys don’t belong here. Go back to where you came from.” It made me feel really low, like I didn’t belong to part of society.

It happens everywhere. I think everyone does it. I’ve done it before. And it makes me wonder: If I don’t stop (stereotyping) others, then the rest of the people aren’t going to stop doing it.

(For example,) I started working in part-time sales with my father. One time, two young ladies in gang attire came in. Nobody wanted to help them. Even I didn’t want to help them because I figured they didn’t want to buy anything. Finally, my father went to help them and they paid for a whole stereo component in cash. I guess everyone learned from that. It doesn’t matter who walks in, you’ve got to treat everyone with respect.

MARCIA BOWMAN

Junior, 16, Sylmar High School

I was in 10th grade and a very nice girl from another race asked, “Where are you from?” I said, “I was born in L.A.” She said, “You don’t talk like that.” I knew what she meant was, “You don’t talk like other black people do.”

I’m black. A lot of people expect black people to speak improperly.

Before I believed that all Hispanic people were basically a drag on society, and they were all uneducated. (But) there was a girl in junior high school who basically made straight A’s. She was very intelligent. She spoke well, and she wrote well. That proved to me that the Hispanic race is not (inferior.)

ANTONIA VILLALOBOS

Senior, 17, Santa Monica High School

Everyone thinks that my ultimate goal is to be married and be a baby-maker. That’s the stereotype. My mom had eight children. Just because I’m Mexican, they think I want to be barefoot and pregnant. That’s not what I want. In my English class last semester, we saw a play written by a 17-year old Latina. Her family just wanted her to be married. But she wanted to go to school. I found myself being stared at. I spoke out, and tears came out. They kind of wanted to know, “Is that true, Antonia? Is that you?” They figured that was me. Even though there were other Latinas in the class--they didn’t ask them--they asked me.

My stereotype of African-Americans is that they all try to be loud and disruptive. I hate myself for doing that, because I hate it when they (stereotype) me.

RAYMOND CARPIO

Senior, 18, Marshall High School, Los Angeles

Yeah, I stereotype people, but not seriously, not putting them in a box to stay forever. I couldn’t or wouldn’t do that because I know its wrong, also because it has happened to me too often. Most people think that Asians are nerds or that all of us are smart. People stereotype me because of the color of my skin and no one ever thinks I speak English, or that I speak English well. Those are some of the stereotypes we (Asians) feel. People make fun of us all the time. It makes me feel awful. Sometimes awful sad, sometimes awful pissed off. I don’t know how you can surpass this, it’s been going on for years and I see no end in sight. I don’t know about solutions; I don’t think there are any solutions. Parents teach you prejudice and bias before you are out of the house and then you pass them on or use this information to judge people yourself.