My love for banana : lessons on generalisation and misconceptions

My love for banana : lessons on generalisation and misconceptions

Hutchinsons remains one of my best fruit pick up shops. I absolutely miss those days where I took a stroll just to buy some fruits and bananas are always one of my favourite. Ooh yes...bananas! Some times after buying the banana, I get home and notice that one or two fingers of the banana are going soft, probably due to mishandling. Gently, I take the one or two fingers going bad, and I still have my precious bananas to eat * smiles *

Notice that I  didn't throw away the whole bunch of banana because of one or two bad fingers. That's the right thing to do I guess. However, most of us are probably  throwing away the whole bunch because of just a few bad fingers. Someone is already wondering : what are you saying? That's impossible ! Why would  I throw a whole bunch because of just a few? This sounds really crazy! Very crazy!  But every time we generalise and pre-judge an individual or a group based on previous stories ( whether true or false) , we are simply throwing away the entire bunch because of a few bad ones. So many people around the world have been maltreated because of this singular reason...generalisation!

There are quite a number of generalisations / misconceptions / prejudices around today. Black people are this and that, white people are this and that. Ooh, no wonder, he's from blah...blah , and they have a reputation for blah...blah. Such statements are generalisations!

The first damage generalisation does is that it creates a negative impression of the person. When such prejudice is at work, people can tend to lose their temper, easily get irritated and angry over what they would normally laugh over if it were probably coming from a friend or by just being their normal self. This consequently can lead to deterioration of relationships and potential friendship opportunity. It can even go a long way to hurt the person(s) and the persons  feeling that is now victimised because of the generalisation.

So then, what is the way forward? First, there are good and bad people in every country, state, city and any locality all over the world. So, why not keep an open mind and always treat people on an individual basis rather than generalisations.  That way, you avoid treating people based on assumptions.  You avoid prejudices and misconceptions about the person ( group). Secondly,  the message communicated by generalisation and misconceptions can be ridiculous if we actually take time to think through it. So yes, the next time you meet someone, do away with that previous misconceptions or generalisation and treat them for who they are. Try to understand them and please do not treat them based on that stereotypical message!

Finally I close with this : "I've drawn the conclusion, its all an illusion. Confusion is the name of the game. A misconception, a vast deception,Something got to change" ...Indian Arie quotes

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This is dedicated to all the good people around the world who have been unfairly treated due to generalisations / misconceptions .

# I am a Nigerian, not a criminal #