Where objectification and stereotypes hurt...

Objectification and stereotypes are the key accomplices of systematically institutionalized violence. By objectifying or stereotyping, we forget or overlook the bigger picture.

For example, in the case of Aboriginal Indians, the common stereotype is that they are all drunken Indians. What we forget is that alcohol was in essence brought to them to breed helplessness. How can we forget that despairity and drunkedness go together? By stereotyping, or objectifying, we narrow our vision to scrutinize only the problem. We distance ourselves from reality. We forget the cause, the history and eventually, when violence walks in, we forget humanity.