I had a teacher with whom I used to work say to me, “Wow, I always thought you were well travelled.” I wonder what that was supposed to mean? Did she mean I liked to visit foreign countries? Had many life experiences? Other meanings I don’t know about?
I’ve never even been to Kentucky!
What’s the difference between a Harley Davidson and a Hoover vacuum cleaner?
A couple of weeks ago members of the basketball team for which I play were sitting in the bleachers reflecting on the game we had just played. We had beaten a team that was a rival of ours in a game that had ended with an unfortunate altercation. With emotions still running strong, we started to pick apart the players from the other team.
Yelled by one of my teammates, “Look at that dude with his stupid moustache, he looks like a typical Harley rider!”
Isn’t it amazing how easy it is for us to generalize about groups of people? I ride a Harley. As a matter of fact, I am on my second one having just purchased a 2009 Fat Boy. I have had the opportunity to get to know many others who ride Harleys. Some of the Harley riders I have met are among the nicest people I have ever come across. Some of the Harley riders I have met I wouldn’t give the time of day to for fear of repercussions. Most of the Harley riders I have met fall somewhere between the two extremes, much like society in general.
This isn’t about Harley riders but is actually about stereotyping in general. On our team we have a cop, a minister, an ER doctor, and I have been a teacher. I can assure you, none of us would fit the typical stereotype of those professions. I know of a former stripper who worked the clubs to pay for medical school. One of the toughest hockey players with whom I ever played later revealed he was gay. I know of a man who drove a dodge pickup and wore jeans and boots who couldn’t get a salesman to help him at a Mercedes dealership because of what he drove and how he dressed, despite the fact he could pay cash for any car on the lot. These people are not your stereotypical med school student, hockey player, or mercedes buyer! Are they?
Stereotyping is something all of us do, myself included. But yet when I think about meeting new people with an open mind , not trying to classify people I meet, I almost always come away with a positive experience and new found friends. I guess it is time to stop the stereotyping, we can all be better than the stereotypical stereotyper. I hope that sentence made sense to you, after all, I am just another dumb Harley rider.
By the way, what is the difference between a Harley Davidson and a Hoover vacuum cleaner?
The Harley has room for two dirtbags on board.
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