magneticgoop wrote:Stereotypes must be slightly true because they had to be true for a large number of a certain group for some time for them to become well known. For example the stereotype that Asians are bad drives i find to be quite true because I live in an area of San Diego with about 85% Asian population and 9 times out of ten that someone cuts you off or runs a stop sign is, you guessed it, Asians. now I don't think it has to do with race, i think it has to do with upbringing. Many of the drivers are first generation immigrants that's families never had cars and driving is a relatively new experience and the rules of the road aren't ingrained in them since the time they were born. So my point is are stereotypes completely wrong to assume?
I understand the point you tried to make with this post but your example seems a bit off. You estimated that your area is 85% Asian and that 90% of the accidents involve Asians. That would be expected since there is such a high Asian population (and because you guessed at both of those figures, the fact that 90% is higher doesn't really matter).
Now if you came from an area with 10% Asians in the population and they were involved in 90% of the accidents, then it would appear that the stereotype has some truth to it.
Anyway, stereotypes are all generally based on fact which is why they are so common. However it is impossible to say that all people in a group act, think or look a certain way, so there will always be exceptions and that is when people get angry (because they are judged based on the actions of others and not themselves).