Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Unconscious Bias to Conscious Un-Bias



Then I told them about how current affairs have made me think about my own words and actions.  Last week we were out of a walk and passed a young man heading into the post office – I asked if they remembered anything about him (they didn’t).  He was black, had long dreadlocks and was not dressed like a typical resident of my town.   I admitted to them that my first thought was “he doesn’t look like he belongs here”.  But I also told them that my immediate second thought, as a result of current affairs, was to check myself – why didn’t he belong here?  The guy was just mailing a letter!  I made it a point to greet him in the same way I would anyone else, with a smile and a kind word. (I am Canadian at heart, after all)

Am I proud of my initial reaction?  No, not at all.   Can I use it to demonstrate what’s meant by unconscious bias, and to model conscious un-bias?  Indeed I can.  

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