What do you Think?

Racism is being aided through stereotypes. Everyone faced racism at least once in their life, as people usually tend to think that they are superior to others. On a sunny morning, specifically in the 17th of March, I conducted an interview at 9:20am with the science instructor, Mohammad Ilias about stereotypes. Instructor Mohammad Ilias works at the Academic Bridge Program in Doha, Qatar. In his grey science lab, I decided to use the time in between his classes to carry an interview about his experience with stereotypes, since he mentioned in class before that he has faced discrimination due to his ethnicity and background. He is originally from Bangladesh, however, he grew up and lived in the United Kingdom. Due to his background, some people stereotype him and think he’s a technician rather than a science instructor. The purpose of carrying an interview with instructor Mohammad Ilias is to get a further insight through the issue and see his past experiences in the different countries he visited and lived in.

The interview went as the following:

1. What do you believe stereotypes are?

Overgeneralized beliefs that people make and practice on different groups based on what they observe or hear.

2. What stereotype are you a victim of?

Racism

3. What are the long term consequences of stereotypes?

Stereotypes lead to prejudice, which is an opinion not backed up. Henceforth, prejudice only result in negatives. They also generate more stereotypes as they are all related in one way or another, and it also increases conflict in society.

4. What generates stereotypes?

Stereotypes are usually generated through people's interpretation of what they observe, hear or see other people do. They base assumptions on unsupported opinions.

5. How are stereotypes spread in your opinion?

I believe that stereotypes are practiced which makes them spread from one person to another. People share their knowledge and ideas, people believe or continue spreading it, and the cycle keeps going on.

6. Are stereotypes practiced more in some countries?

Stereotypes are not practiced more in some countries in comparison to others. Stereotypes are practiced everywhere by many people. The location has no influence on the amount of stereotyping within a country.

7. How can we minimize stereotypes?

There are several ways where we can minimize stereotypes. One of the ways could be teaching people to be open minded and accepting of other cultures and people through education and campaigns.

The ongoing problem of stereotypes is not limited within one country. People practice stereotyping everywhere, which makes this issue highly complex and difficult to minimize. Stereotypes lead to prejudice and conflict between people, and creates social hierarchies. It spreads hatred between the people and makes different groups compare themselves to others. Stereotypes are not fixed thoughts that are true, rather, it is unsupported opinions people spread about other groups in order to feel superior.