Stereotyping

Stereotyping is an inherently bad practice. There is no question in my mind about that. Ever person is different and no cultural generalizations encompass everyone. However, this morning I was thinking about it a little more, especially in regards to the Danish party troubles I have been having. The interesting concept of stereotypes is that they have to have come from something. Meaning, most likely, that the stereotype was established around some truth. And typically that truth was true for the majority of people or else it would have been passed off as an inconsistency and not a stereotype. My real question though is this, once someone becomes aware of a stereotype, and even if they are against the practice of stereotyping, are they more likely to see that stereotype played out in real life based on their on perceptions of events? Just a thought.