In my entrepreneurship class last night, people kept picking on a girl from Perry county (a rural, "hick" area). I should have spoken up last night, but I didn't. If it continues into the next class, I'm going to have to speak out against it.
The big problem is that the effects of labelling are insidious. The more jokes we crack about something, the less serious we are about it. Eventually, we end up with blind spots, e.g. we won't think to explore a business opportunity in Perry county because that county has been labelled with derision.
This bias strikes to the heart of the class because entrepreneurship differs from small business management only in that the ideas and/or actions are "new". What is "new"? If we tag an idea with enough newer technology labels, does it become "new"? I bet it does. If we only know "new" when we see it, then there is plenty of opportunity for psychological manipulation.