Originally Posted by Gorman

Actually it is an evolutionary tool, and a very good one at that!

When you see a pack of crocodiles approaching you, what will you do? Go try give them a hug? Or run the fuck away? You realise that crocodiles have a nasty habit of wanting to gnaw on human skulls, and you probably prefer that not be your skull.

Similarly, when you see a group of black guys dressed like gangsters walking down an dark alley towards you, you turn around and walk away.
Maybe they are perfectly nice guys on their way to buy some organic fruit. However, you 'play the odds' as such and assume that you should not get in their way.


Back to the animal kingdom again, you know that apples are pretty tasty stuff. When you need some food, you grab an apple because they rock your world.

When you need the time, but you don't have it, you probably ask someone around your age, or a respectable looking fella. You realise that by hitting up someone like that you are most likely to get the time. Most people would give you the time if you asked, but you instinctively ask certain people.


You physically do NOT have the time to get to know every single person you see, you need a way to make snap judgments and play the odds. Stereotypes group people together and allow you to judge someone quickly and effectively without needing to get to know them.
Practically no one conforms 100% to stereotypes. But practically everyone conforms to some degree.