Stereotypes infuriate me as they're often incomplete or inaccurate representations of a small group of people that later gets applied to everyone with a similar background. Stereotypes are neither helpful nor informative, and often lead to preconceived prejudices against people we've never met simply because the perpetuators of that stereotype are ignorant of the world. Laura Brehaut recently wrote an article in Canada's National Post newspaper on coffee culture in Japan that is both misleading and factually wrong. Anyone who spends more than a day outside of the tourist hotspots would know that 90% of this article is complete balderdash … but there's the rub; most people reading this article have never been to Japan and will likely never make the trek. As a result, this country will appear as a twisted joke of a nation populated by sexual deviants who pay exorbitant sums of money for artisanal cups of coffee.
Given the amount of misinformation that is found online, articles like this need to stop. Stereotypes and prejudices often lead to breakdowns of communication and closing of minds. This is the polar opposite of what news organisations with readerships measuring in the millions should be doing with their privilege.