“It is time for parents to teach young people early on that in diversity there is beauty and there is strength.” – Maya Angelou

Young people are nothing but trouble. They stay out at all hours of the night. They wear their clothes sagging down to their knees, and they’re promiscuous beyond belief.

Black people are ghetto. Most of them are on Welfare. The girls wear weaves and have big butts that twerk better than Miley Cyrus. The guys are thugs that are up to no good and they probably barely graduated high school.

You shouldn’t have gay friends because they’ll definitely hit on you.  All gay guys ever think about is sex. Lesbians are okay though because they’re hot.

Sound familiar?

If you’re reading this right now, chances are you’ve heard at least one of these stereotypes before this before.

To make sense of society, often people put others in mental compartments. To see someone dressed in a dress suit and reason that they’re a part of corporate America is harmless. A person with a small frame and a healthy glow to them may very well be a health-conscious person. Compartmentalizing people makes a turn for the worst when it’s done in a negative fashion.

In reality, there are some who fall into stereotypes.  Stereotypes wouldn’t exist without these people, but it’s no one’s job to put them there. Putting someone in a box because of their age, race, sexual orientation or anything else that makes them different is not only wrong. It’s stupid. Basically, stereotyping is assuming someone acts or thinks a certain way without actually knowing how or why they do the things they do.

America is and always will be considered a melting pot. But it is our differences that have given our nation the ability to be what it is. Without differences, there wouldn’t have been great thinkers to push and challenge the United States to make changes, from the Civil Rights Movement to the acceptance of gay marriage. Our differences are what make us special. There is no other nation in the world that is build upon the back of diversity in the same way that we are.

Before looking down your nose at someone and assuming they incorrectly do things differently from you, remember this quote.

Don’t assume anything, because it makes an ass out of u and me.