Cultural stereotypes are incredibly harmful as it labels a whole group of people as having the same characteristics. It can be based on their appearances, religion, race, or gender. It does not matter if the assumption is true or false; stereotyping is a form of prejudice. As a result of racism, many ethnic groups have experienced stereotyping and discrimination. In reality, many of these assumptions about these groups are incorrect but are commonly used to stereotype them.

They Called Us Enemy, written by George Takei, dealt with how stereotyping people can impact their lives tremendously. In the graphic novel, Japanese Americans were sent to incarceration camps because they were labeled a threat and “Alien Enemy“. Many of these people have been living in the United States for years but were never granted citizenship. When the news got around about the Pearl Harbor bombing, United States citizens already formed their own opinions about the Japanese. A new riot was formed with the writing as “Lock up the Japs”. Even though the hundreds of thousands of Japanese living in California had nothing to do with the bombing, they were still stereotype as the same. The Japanese were thought not to be loyal to the United States but to Japan. Therefore they could not be trusted.

On February 19, 1942, Executive Order 9066 was issued by the United States president Franklin Roosevelt. The order gave the US military the right to ordered any suspected Japanese to evacuate their homes within a one-week period. This executive order infuriates me because it was unconstitutional, but the Japanese still had to experience this. It violated the fifth amendment, which was due process of law. Due process of law grants rights to a fair trial. Life, liberty, and property were taken away from the Japanese. They had no choice but to follow the orders of the government. Any suspected enemy was sent to incarceration camps that were away from the west coast, including California, Arizona, Oregon, and Washington. Specially because most area of the west coast was considered military zones. The Japanese had to restart their lives over and some families had kids which was super stressful as parents always wants their kids to be comfortable.

This event took place decades ago but even to this day, stereotyping is still around. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in late 2019, all the blame was on Asians. Asians were stereotype to be dirty. This is extremely false. The first case was reported in China, but this does not mean that all Asians have coronavirus. For the past few months, Asian hate crimes increased to where deaths and injuries occurred.

This comment is not only ignorant and disgusting but also hateful and harmful to many. This comment was from a Los Angeles Times article written by Leila Miller. The man was simply asking the jogger to put on his mask because we are in a pandemic. In return, he got a nasty comment. In this article, it shocked me how one of the hate crime was a bomb threat to the Japanese American National Museum. The empowering movement, “Stop Asian Hate, ” fights against anti-Asian violence and stops racist comments worldwide toward Asians. Some other Asian stereotypes label them as intelligent and always excel in the math field. People might think that this stereotype is a good thing but in reality it is not. This stereotype can be very damaging as it puts higher standards for Asians and them feeling they have to live up to the common assumption.

On a final note, it is crucial not to stereotype any group as having the same characteristics. It is crucial to educate yourself and others on the effects of stereotyping and how it causes harm to people. In the future, before making assumptions about a person, please get to know them before forming an opinion. If a friend ever makes an ignorant comment stereotyping someone let them know it isn’t right. Be on the lookout for new articles and videos that stereotypes a group of people based on their appearances. You might have never experience racism but you should not ignore what is happening to other people around you. Just because one person from a large group of people does something unacceptable does not mean that the whole group of people is the same. Racism and stereotyping is taught. Take a stand for what you believe in.