On the tier list it goes;

Stereotyping -> prejudice -> racism -> discrimination

I think it’s normal to stereotype people (positive + negative) because it gives you a loose gravel foundation, until you can form an independent opinion of the individual, free of prior assumptions.

Even within my own community there are certain things I will advise friends of other backgrounds to be aware of, until they know the individual. Not to discriminate, but to understand where certain behaviours can *potentially* come from.

Only cowards and feeble brained people jump to racism and discrimination; most level headed people will just have the info running in the background, and override it once they get to know a person for their independent characteristics ( ・∇・)

(side note: sorry to hear of your work experiences dude :( i hope your work life is better now (⁎⁍̴̆Ɛ⁍̴̆⁎) )