Why is it so easy to generalize?

[SunnyRS]

Why do people generalize?
I might have asked this question earlier, I think but I see some questions or comments where people just say that all men are this, all women are that. All black people are this and all white people are that.
But why? It's not that simple, not everyone is the same.
People should understand that when they generalize they are only narrowing down the people whom they can connect with.
Please don't judge everyone in the same manner.

[Kaneki05]

The irony of this question is implying that generalization is bad based on generalization.
Generalizing is not a bad nor good thing just depends how on uses it. And judging everyone to be the same due to something again can be a bad or good thing.
Your getting into the weeds of you dislike generalization but reality is no one does, if you were about to walked down a dark ally and someone was in it with their hood up and hands in pocket your gonna think twice no?

I don't know what triggered you to make this question but if I had to guess you were probably right about been triggered by someone who made a generalization that's just racist or sexist etc, but that's not generalizing been a bad thing that's just how they used it.
So the more important question is why do they generalize in such way well it's to get their own extreme view into light, nothing more.

I also like to add not all generalize are meant to be taken to heart. And are there just to provoke a question upon why something is common.

[SunnyRS]

I appreciate your take on that.
Thanks

[KostasKouvalis]

Dave Chappelle said we're preconditioned from a young age to think in generalizations. There is a saying, "two is a coincidence, three is a pattern". And people are reconditioned to see patterns. But I don't think all generalizations are false. For example, the statement that black people have never been able to develop a developed nation is simply a fact.
And so many tourists complain about scamming, corruption and poor treatment in Egypt. And so many women complain about pervert Indian men, that these can't possibly be generalizations. They didn't pull these things out of their ass. Like Eric Cartman said, "Not all of them, but MOST of them are and all it takes is most of them."
But if course some generalizations can be false too, for instance the bad things you hear about French people.

[texascollegegirl]

What a disgusting, racist comment.

[SunnyRS]

There is some truth to what you are saying but that's not all true.
Like the reason for black people not able to develop a developed nation is not because of the humans but because of the conditions and circumstances they had to deal with to get to this point.
Like there are pervert men in India like any other country but most of the sages and saints you may have heard about come from there as well.
As for what Dave Chappelle said, sure three makes a pattern but you only need one deflection to break that pattern.
Thus I still keep hope from people and not generalize them.

[KostasKouvalis]

@texascollegegirl How was it disgusting and racist?

[KostasKouvalis]

I disagree, but that's a discussion for another post.
There seem to be far more in India though. This is just a fact. They also have the highest percentage of catfishes and with Morocco for example, the US State Department actually put out a warning for American men not to talk to Moroccan women online, because many American men have been scammed.

Chappelle didn't say "three is a pattern", he said we're brought up to think in generalizations.

I will say this, there was a study done that found that Conservatives are better at analyzing potential dangers than Liberals. That's why you don't see as many Conservatives traveling to places like Pakistan, Yemen or Venezuela. We often get called "racist" and "close-minded" for this, but have you noticed how you don't hear as many stories about Conservatives being killed or kidnapped abroad?

Some generalizations are stupid, I think we can both agree on that. But others are completely rational. I think generalizing an entire/place group as "safe", is just as bad and dangerous as generalizing them as bad. But at the same time, you need to look at patterns. I don't think it's a bad thing to be aware of potential danger. I'm more likely to get murdered in Venezuela than I am in Singapore. That's not racist, it's just a fact.

[texascollegegirl]

No point in trying to explain to a dirty, disgusting racist why his dirty, disgustingly racist comment is dirty and disgustingly racist. Only really stupid people think the way you do.

[KostasKouvalis]

@texascollegegirl Yeah okay. I'm not gonna take a girl who fetishizes black men seriously. "My boyfriend's little white dick." Yet I'M the evil and stupid one for generalizing. Yeah, okay

[texascollegegirl]

Your comments are racist.

[CupcakeTheDestroyer]

Humans are hierarchal thinkers when it comes to socializing. We separate people into groups based on whatever standards we have. Generalizing is indeed an incomplete picture but simplifying the process can be seen as easier for those who do so regularly.

[jack1924]

Because you already answered the question, it’s just easy and people tend to do the easy stuff

[SunnyRS]

That's very true

[SweetPi]

Cause it's usually right

[SunnyRS]

I would have to disagree with you on that.
It can never be right to judge an entire section of people based on a few or even the majority of them.
You may find 1 good apple from a bunch of 100 bad ones, but if you say all apples are bad then you won't look for the good one.

[SweetPi]

Who wants one good apple with 100 bad ones. It's like online dating if the app is bad you won't find a nice apple.

[SunnyRS]

So you stop eating apples altogether, I don't think that's the right solution.
As for your online dating app analogy, maybe one app is bad but you still try another one.

[KostasKouvalis]

I agree with the girl. Sure it's nice when you find those apples, but they're insignificant, because the other apples have all the influence and the louder voices.

[jahaims]

Survival mechanism

[SunnyRS]

Fair.
But I think for better survival you need to have a good instinct to separate good from bad, not stay away from everything thinking it's bad.