The criminal look

Unit 5

STEREOTYPING PEOPLE

FOOD FOR THOUGHT

§ Are you a tolerant person?

§ Do you stereotype people?

§ Do you reject those who are different from you?

§ Do you blame your problems on 'them'?

§ “Beauty and folly are old companions”. Truth or prejudice?

Tolerance is respect, acceptance and appreciation of the rich diversity of world’s cultures, forms of ex­pression and ways of being human. It is fostered by knowledge, openness, com­munication, and freedom of thought. Tolerance, the virtue that makes peace possible, contributes to the replacement of the culture of war by the culture of peace. It means accepting the fact that human be­ings, naturally diverse in their appearance, situation, speech, behavior and values, have the right to live in peace and to be as they are. It also means that one's views are not to be imposed on others.

Intolerance is very often rooted in ignorance and fear: fear of the unknown, of the other, other cultures, nations, religions. Intolerance is also closely linked to an ex­aggerated sense of self-worth and pride.

Bigotry, stereotyping, stigmatizing, insults and racial jokes are examples of individual expressions of intolerance to which some people are subjected daily. Along with outright injustice and vio­lence, discrimination and marginalization are common forms of intolerance.

Among the German philosophers of the early 19^th century Schiller’s strive to overall harmony met religious concepts of forgiveness, sympathy, truth and love. To feel the beauty one must study. Schiller saw education and learning ethical and aesthetic principles as the key way to gain feeling of beauty. Knowledge gives you freedom:

Thy magic powers re-unite

What custom's sword has divided

Beggars become Princes' brothers

Where thy gentle wing abides.

You bow down, millions?

Can you sense the Creator, world?

Seek him above the starry canopy. ( Ode to Joy)

and shows the way to beauty and God:

Gods one cannot ever repay,

It is beautiful, though, to be like them.

Sorrow and Poverty, come forth

And rejoice with the Joyful ones.

Anger and revenge be forgotten,

Not one tear shall he shed anymore,

No feeling of remorse shall pain him.

He whom star clusters adore,

He whom the Seraphs' hymn praises,

This glass to him, the good spirit,

Above the starry canopy! (Ode to Joy).[1]

Questions for discussion

§ What is tolerance?

§ What is intolerance?

§ Define bigotry, stereotyping, stigmatizing, marginalization and discrimination.

§ What is tolerance fostered by?

§ Get yourself familiar with a piece of “Ode to Joy” by F. Schiller, a German philosopher. What ideas and views does it imply? How is it relevant in terms of the topic? Is it of any value to you?

The criminal look

Witnesses may pick out from an identification parade the person who most resembles their idea of what the criminal would look like, a conference organized by the British Psychological Society was told on Saturday. Mr. Ray Bull, a senior lecturer at the North East London Polytechnic, said research had shown that the public tended to link abnormal appearance with abnormalities of behaviour. 'The public and police do agree about what face fits what crime,' he said. 'One apparently widely held belief is the "what is beautiful is good" stereotype. An individual's facial attractiveness has an effect on how threatening other people judge that person to be. I have found that the addition of one or two small scars to a face leads to that face being judged more dishonest.'

Those beliefs also influence length of sentence and verdict, he said. Research in mock-trial settings had shown that the more unattractive defendant was more heavily sentenced than one of attractive character and appearance. Mr. Bull, an expert on identification by witnesses, was addressing psychologists and lawyers at a conference in London held by Sir Brian MacKenna, a retired high court judge, on the role of psychology in the legal system.

For decades it had been known that people often do not see or hear things presented to their senses, but do 'see' and 'hear' things that have not occurred. But none of those factors meant that identification evidence was of little value. Laboratory research based on photographs had shown recognition rates were high, about 80 per cent, even after delays of 35 days. But rates were lower when identification was tested in mock criminal episodes in the streets because of stress the inability of the witness to concentrate simultaneously on self-preservation and remembering details of the culprit. Law enforcement authorities should be more aware of the factors that influence memory and identification, Mr. Bull said. Apart from people’s prejudices about the 'look’ of a criminal, the factors included the way questions were asked.

The Times (BrE)

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