Can we generalize without Stereotyping

Every day people walk, drive, or ride the bus to work or school or other activities. but as passing other people, we tend to generalize the people that we see into different categories. This is normal for most people even without thinking about it. People judge other people and put them into categories based off of skin color or race or religion or even hair color. This categorizing may just be stereotyping for some, however I believe they are so similar sometimes that the effects of generalizing can be taken as a form of stereotyping. This creates a mass effect on our society because people see people that are not in their generalization as different to them. But this is what stereotyping is. It isn't being aware of the other groups around you, it is knowing, pointing out, and maybe mistreating other groups around you. It is very hard to learn the fine line between them, and i would love to learn more about it.