I learned something in class last Wednesday. SHOCKER. We were in the midst of a group discussion pertaining to cultural proficiency coaching. After my group discussed our different lenses and points of view, our professor brought up a different point of view that none of us had considered.
She shared something along the lines of, "Whenever I hear the phrase 'I'm blind to race' or 'I don't see color,' I get irritated. I get irritated because it's not true."
Unless you are physically incapable to see, you see color. You see the differences in each other. You see the difference in a thin person and someone who is obese. You see the difference between the elderly and the young. You see the difference between someone who is dressed to the nines and someone wearing holey jeans. You see the difference between a white person and a black person. We were made different because if we all had the same hardships, same triumphs, same lifestyles, there would be no varying points of perspective.
If we were all the same, we couldn't learn from one another.
After productive discussion, I asked cautiously, "Am I correct in saying that we all have biases? There's always one side we are leaning towards whether it's race, gender, socioeconomic status, etc." Cautiously. My voice trailed off after status because I knew just how loaded the question was. Filled with topics embedded into today's debates and hot topics, the wrong wording would offend my peers and professor.
I'm a people pleaser; I fear pushing people away. On top of that, our society is so quick to being judgemental. It seems as if nothing can be said without offending someone, somewhere. I'm scared to admit that I have biases in the fear that I will offend someone, pushing them away.
My professor asked me if I have ever heard of "Project Implicit" (I highly recommend checking it out if you have the chance). I was totally unaware of the Harvard study, but as I took the tests I came to realize that innately I do have biases. It's not that I wanted to swing for one side of the spectrum but I have comfort zones. It's not wrong that I have these prejudices, but it is wrong to act like I don't have prejudices.
Results are shocking. At least mine were. I expected to have extremes and on some I had no preference what so ever. But I'm gaining perspectives about myself that I never knew I had and in turn giving me awareness that will hopefully make me a better educator.
I already mentioned I hate pushing people away. I have prejudices. But I am aware of these biases and make sure that these never inhibit a relationship.
Crazy to think how many negative news headlines would disappear if we would become aware of our biases and seek understanding from other lenses rather than condemning them. God made us different for a reason. There's so much to learn from one another but ignoring our biases or pushing them onto others is a barrier for knowledge.
I'm prejudice. We all are. Let's learn.
"It is the mismanagement of conflict, not the conflict itself, that causes most problems." — Nuri Robins (2002).
