Take some solace in the fact that you are in the majority here and a deep fear of public speaking is completely normal. Public speaking is probably the most stressful things in a person's life. In fact comedian Jerry Seinfield jokes that some people would rather die than speak in public (rather be the one in the coffin instead of giving the eulogy.) Here is a quote from a pretty good book to read about it: The Attack of the Butterflies - Confessions of a Public Speaker by Scott Berkun found at this site.ArcticStar wrote: I've become so self-conscious about this that over the years I've developed a deep fear of public speaking, just because I'm subconsciously afraid of what people will think of my slight accent.
- Mark Twain, who made most of his income from speaking, not writing, said, "There are two types of speakers: those that are nervous and those that are liars."
- Elvis Presley said, "I've never gotten over what they call stage fright. I go through it every show."
- Thomas Jefferson was so afraid of public speaking he had someone else read the State of the Union address (George Washington didn't like speaking either).
- Bono, of U2, claims to get nervous the morning of every one of the thousands of shows he's performed.
- Winston Churchill, JFK, Margaret Thatcher, Barbara Walters, Johnny Carson, Barbara Streisand, and Ian Holm have all reported fears of public communication.
- Aristotle, Isaac Newton, Charles Darwin, Winston Churchill, John Updike, Jack Welch, and James Earl Jones all had stutters and were nervous speakers at one time in their lives.
If you just fill in the blanks each time, you are not letting any feelings about a stereotype control you. The eating strange animals doesn't control you anymore. If only more people were able to do this and just get over it instead of feeling such outrage things would be a lot better.ArcticStar wrote:One stereotype that I don't really mind is _____ This used to bother me very much, until I realized that _____.
The only problem that can happen tho is if someone outside your group gets involved. If someone you don't know hears you making racial statements they could possibly be offended, or think that you are ok with that and make statements of their own to "break the ice" that might offend you or others. It could be said that you are allowing stereotyping to continue by this behavior - (though I don't have a problem with this - I don't think stereotypes are a bad thing) - but some people might also be upset with the principal of it.ArcticStar wrote:My good friend and I do this all the time just for laughs.
The term African-American really irks me. Just what part of Africa was this now? A guy I used to work with is married to a Black. She prefers the term Black because her family is French. To her being called African-American is an insult. Interesting huh?if you refer to yourself as American, refer to me as American as well. It's also really bothering when someone asks me what part of Asia I was born in.
Here's a quote from Former President Theodore Roosevelt:
There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism. When I refer to hyphenated Americans, I do not refer to naturalized Americans. Some of the very best Americans I have ever known were naturalized Americans, Americans born abroad. But a hyphenated American is not an American at all... The one absolutely certain way of bringing this nation to ruin, of preventing all possibility of its continuing to be a nation at all, would be to permit it to become a tangle of squabbling nationalities, an intricate knot of German-Americans, Irish-Americans, English-Americans, French-Americans, Scandinavian-Americans or Italian-Americans, each preserving its separate nationality, each at heart feeling more sympathy with Europeans of that nationality, than with the other citizens of the American Republic... There is no such thing as a hyphenated American who is a good American. The only man who is a good American is the man who is an American and nothing else.
I have seen short non-asians. I'm half asian. At 5'4" I'm one of the taller people in Asia (I've spent considerable time in Japan, Thailand, Korea, and the Philippines) and am one of the shorter people in America (Being in the military I was exposed to quite the array of people from all walks of life.) To Asians I look white, and to non-Asians I look Asian so I don't really ever get to "fit in" anywhere. There is a lot of truth to stereotypes - that's why they exist.ArcticStar wrote:This stereotype doesn't really bother me, but don't tell me that you've never seen a short Caucasian or non-Asian before. In fact, most of the Asians I've met are around the same height, or taller than other races, and most of the shorter than average people I've met are Caucasian. I do realize that you said "most", but that depends on what you compare them to. Like I said earlier, people tend not to realize that stereotypes often fit many groups of people, not just that one; therefore, most stereotypes are invalid and quite hypocritical.Eclaire wrote: -Asians are short. Why yes, most Asians are short. Just because Yao Ming breaks the mold (both literally and figuratively) doesn't make the stereotype any less valid. He is just an exception. There is always an exception and you can't overturn a general consensus based on a few exceptions.
Stereotypes also heavily depend on the majority of the people in that area. In America, you'll rarely find a stereotype against Caucasians, but stereotypes about other races are everywhere.
Those are more insults rather than just being a stereotype-only because of the way they are being used.Many stereotypes are also based on comparison. If, for example, I said, "Asians are smart compared to Caucasians", I wouldn't get too many complaints, as it is seemingly "well-known" that this is "true". However, if I said the reverse example, "Caucasians are stupid compared to Asians", I'd immediately get shot down.