I realize that both on my podcasts and on my blog, I make a lot of sweeping generalizations. I just did it in the last post about women as coworkers and a dominantly female work place. What can I say? Generalizations are easy. You get to judge an entire group of people on the observations of a small few. It keeps you from having to make a judgement on an individual basis, which can be bothersome and time consuming, and cumbersome. It’s not racism, it’s not sexism, or any kind of ism, it’s just generalism. Hell, even the Scholastic Assessment Test did it at one point. If this thing is this, and that thing is that, then this is that. You know, that kind of thing. Wait, maybe that’s not a generalization.
The problem people have with me making a sweeping generalization is that they don’t believe I know I’m making one. As you can tell, I’m very aware of the kinds of judgements and generalizations I make. As a matter of fact, I often do it because it’s not only easy, but it’s lazy. To have to explain each time that I realize that this is based on a small group of people and that every individual situation is different and unique would be just annoying. It should be generally assumed that I believe this as I would be complete idiot to think that everything and everyone is exactly the same, always. I’ve done my major a disservice to blatantly generalize things without know I’m doing it. Then again, I often just do it because it’s easy and I’m lazy.
Unless you’re telling me with no reservation, that no one in the history of the world has done this and that the average human being doesn’t continue to do this, then I believe that I am not the only one who generalizes as a rule of thumb. I think the biggest difference between my sweeping generalizations and the generalizations of everyone else is, I know that I’m clumping everyone into a single category when they shouldn’t be. I’m mentally aware that what I’m saying really only applies to a few people while the population in large can’t make the distinction. In general, people have a tendency to put other people into these subcategories, if you will, based on what they know about things as a whole. Doesn’t that make sense?
It’s strage, but it’s surprisingly difficult to find anything worthwhile online that even remotely encompasses the essense that is a sweeping generalization. I was going to put up a shitty video on the subject, but I decided against it because I respect you as a reader, and as a scholar. So therefore, you more or less get nothing except this one image.
