After my house was robbed, one of the girls I nanny asked me why someone took my things. My explanation involved cycles of addiction, poverty, and prejudice, and lasted far too long. It would be a lot easier to say that the robbers were bad guys, and a three-year-old would understand that.
I discourage “bad guy” theory. I think identifying people, any people, as “bad guys” (male and female alike) sets the foundation for losing compassion for whole groups. Despite their possession of beating hearts, those guys in the black masks, those guys with mustaches, those guys in turbans, aren’t real people. They’re bad guys. We can injure, imprison, or even kill them without thinking about it because they’ve been identified as inherently bad.
On the other hand, binaries are often touted as useful for rearing children. We want to teach kids the difference between right and wrong. Telling a child, “those are bad guys; they are taking things that aren’t theirs” can instill a sense of justice. Not to mention, discourage toy grabbing during playtime.
What do you think? Do you find “bad guy” theory useful? Dangerous? Something else?