In Chapter 6 of “Blindspot,” the authors talk about the cost of stereotypes, and I think that it’s something really important to note. Everyone says that stereotypes are bad, but nobody really dives into what makes them inherently bad. An example of this could be seen in the Trolley Problem we talked about in class last week. When we got to the situation that included the overweight man on top of the bridge, and scenarios became more and more intricate, some said “he may have diabetes,” or that he may have some other medical condition that would lessen his quality of life. Although someone brought up that “We shouldn’t use stereotypes,” we didn’t really go into what that could mean for the overweight man, not just in the Trolley Problem, but even mentally, after he heard us talking so bad about him (stay with me here).

There are physical and emotional consequences to stereotypes, but after the incident or situation is said and done, why don’t we dive into the long-term mental effects of stereotypes rather than naming them as bad, and ending the discussion there? I think that the authors’ attempt to dive deeper into stereotypical incidents in the U.S. was smart, and I would even argue that they could have dug deeper. There are Black men that walk around scared for their lives because of the assumption that they’re dangerous. There are Asian Americans that are constantly burdened by the stereotype that their citizenship isn’t valid. These groups are in danger in more ways than one, and I think it’s important to address all aspects if we expect to overcome these automatic stereotypes.