Everybody has an opinion and sometimes trying to dissuade them of the wrongness of their ideas might be a dangerous thing to do as it would lead to arguments that will not only burn your time but also drain your energy.
Like you I have learnt to look passed generalizations and tried to see the individual, gauge him or her based his or her own actions not what people say his or her type are capable of doing.
Before I moved to the northern part of my country, I had a stereotypical idea of what northerners are like but since getting to love with them, interact with them, I have learnt that no two persons are the same. Everybody have their motivations, beliefs and understanding of said beliefs. I do not judge them, I try to understand them and in so doing, I am learning more about who I am.