I'm looking for a word or phrase

[IDemo]

13. I guess I need to reset a bit here.

Last edited Fri Aug 2, 2013, 10:39 PM - Edit history (1)

It's not stereotyping that I'm trying to describe. The concept I want to capture is basically a logical fallacy, though I can't identify it specifically. The motocross racer in the OP was a poor example. I'm after the tendency to use ones objection to an argument or a belief to condemn any or all other aspects of an opponent's belief system, but not necessarily to apply the specific objection in a broad-brush manner; i.e. - "bigoted", "uneducated", etc. So, "judgmentalism" to be sure, but what lies behind the propensity to judge (and commonly, misjudge) in the first place.

It is a human trait which cuts across all boundaries of society and seems, to me anyway, to be becoming increasingly common. It's a mental shortcut to dislike, distrust, and even enmitize the whole based on a fraction of the person.