A 12 step to a Society of Belonging:
Step 4: Fearless self examination on where you’re implicit bias may lie.
Why is bias ubiquitous in America although most Americans say they are not racist, sexist etc? Bias seems to be a thing no one does and yet is undeniable. We seem to be shocked every time bias reaches the national stage yet choose to remain oblivious from day to day.
As a child of the 90’s being colorblind was the appropriate way to see the diverse world. I never fully understood why that answer never felt good, until I started to travel and see how beautiful the world is. Being color blind is full of implicit bias. Embedded in the idea, is the need to see everyone the same in order to see them as equal. Every time I hear the term color blind I think of how sad it must be to be colorblind in such a wildly diverse garden. Its amazing how bias can hide, even in perceived advanced thinking.
The #metoo campaign brought the ubiquitous nature of power and sex in American culture. Many women bravely shared their stories or just the hashtag to be counted. Many Americans expressed their disgust. The media covered the outrage of the sexual malice infecting our society. Here is the rub, we actually have been assuming men and women have pressured to sleep for jobs in Hollywood for years. “Casting couch” is a common term we all know and accept. It seems we excused the behavior for years, decades even. But it is now offensive enough we believe our outrage excuses our daily complicity.
To take advantage of the moments of evolution society presents, we each must self reflect on why we excuse behavior in society. By recognizing we may be contributing to the problem,opens up the possibility that we are the solution. Self reflection builds empathy, by recognizing how easy it is to hold on to a bias, we can help others recognize their bias of their own.
Kirwan Institute defines implicit bias as the attitudes or stereotypes that affect our understanding, actions, and decisions in an unconscious manner. Implicit bias are the assumptions you make about people. Cops always feeling that black men running away from them are a threat is a common implicit bias. Most implicit bias shows up as microaggressions, a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority.. Biden expressed his bias when he comment on Obama’s ability to articulate, as if the editor of the Harvard Law Review would have trouble with words.
If you are a person, you have implicit bias and that means you have made wrong assumptions at times, so you are not alone. As quick as we are to blame others for our unrest, we must be quick to check ourselves as well. Question your broadest assumptions about others. First ask yourself, why do I think this is true? Am I looking for confirmation in my assumption? How does this story serve me?
Be fearless with what you may find. As you work through your understanding of “other” you help society be more open. It’s literally the only way it will happen. One person at a time. Thank goodness we can all do it at once if we want.
