To be sincere, I feel like we don't talk enough or realize how powerful stereotype is. And why that is scary to me is because one would think that as an adult, we would be able to distinguish reality from stereotypes, but yet there are moments when we find ourselves reacting to things based on the stereotype we already have in our heads.
And unfortunately, I happen to be one of those people. You see, I live in a village, and if there's one thing that is very common in a village, it is old people. And sadly, due to years of watching television that always tells us that the old women or old people in the village are always after our lives, destiny, or future, I tend to tense up whenever I walk past an old person here.
It is stupid, I know, and I always feel dumb whenever I do it, but at this point it's not even my fault because my body just moves on its own, almost like it activates its defense system in order to save me.
Earlier today, I was on my way to go buy something when I suddenly saw this very old woman walking in my direction. She was muttering something under her breath, probably talking to herself or thinking about something, but my dumb mind didn't see it that way.
Instead, I had told myself that she must be reciting some form of incantation, and I suddenly found myself saying, “I cover myself with the blood of Jesus” in my mind to help me counter whatever charm she was trying to place on me while also giving her enough space to walk past me to avoid any risk of her touching me, because I felt the moment she touched me, she would transfer whatever charm she had on her onto me, just like they do in the movies.
This is a man who is quickly heading to his late twenties, and yet I was behaving like a child. But inasmuch as I don't want to make excuses for my stupid reaction, the truth is that I'm still being traumatized by my childhood and the Nigerian movies we watched back then.
I guess I still have a long way to go when it comes to getting rid of stereotypes in my tiny little brain.