Imagine being a scientist, let’s say an economic theorist, boarding a plane to give a talk at some university. Since you are a busy person, you are of course going to spend the time working, so you start doing some math, for example solving a differential equation, scribbling a mixture of Greek letters and curly symbols in your notepad. That is, writing mathematical equations.
Imagine you come from a Mediterranean country, let’s say Italy or Spain, so you have a healthy look instead of looking like a white ghost from the north (sorry guys, that’s what most of us southerners really think of how northern Europeans look like).
Imagine that your neighbour in the plane, a stereotypical young blond woman in flip-flops and carrying a red handbag, attempts to make some small talk with you. Of course, you rebuff her. Can’t she see you are working? Of course you are not interested in wasting your time talking to such a specimen, even if you can avoid the stereotypical, thoroughly incorrect reaction which ascribes a lower-than-average number of neurons to her. But seriously, doesn’t she even own a mirror? Who does she think she is, Penélope Cruz? (Hint: If you don’t recognize irony and sarcasm when you see them, you probably shouldn’t be reading this)
Alas, you are screwed. Because just in this case, this particular specimen is indeed more than a bit ignorant and has no idea what maths is, and hence has just confused your scribblings with a foreign language (URG!!!). She just might also be more than a bit cross because you didn’t deem to look at her twice. And since you definitely look less than white to her, she is going to accuse you of being a terrorist. Like that. So the airline (American Airlines) is going to invite you out of the plane, so that you can spend sometime explaining to them that no, you are not a terrorist but an economics professor, and no, that is not Arabic but mathematical equations, and by the way what if it were Arabic, and how comes a flip-flop-sporting, red-bag-waving blondie can just yell “Wolf!” and you have to get out of the plane??!
Sounds weird? Well, this happened to Guido Menzio, an associate professor of economics at Penn university and a native of Italy. You can read the actual news in English here and in German here.
That’s what happens when you couple stereotyping with ignorance. I don’t know about you, but next time I am in a plane, if a blond, red-bag-sporting woman starts chit-chatting me when I am trying to work, I am going to be very tempted to yell that I am being harassed and she should be invited to leave the plane. And stereotypes be damned.
Carlos' Ramblings 