As Dr. Bezio mentioned in her podcast, nobody wants to be seen as biased because in our society, being biased is synonymous with being bigoted in one way or another. This was the conception that I previously had of biases, that they were broadly negative connotations that were held by a few in power and something to shy away from. However, over the past few years and as I have done more research on BLM and other social justice movements, I grew to realize how many biases I held and how they were created and reinforced by those around me. In my opinion, these can be just as harmful as true, full-blown racism and are far more common. When people are not aware of a problem they have, or cannot see the problem exists at all, there is no way to fix it and the problem gets worse.
I have spent most of my life in Massachusetts, an incredibly liberal and supposedly un-racist state that prides itself on its actions against slavery in the Civil War. In our history classes, we learn about racism as if it is something exclusive to the South and not a universal fact of life in America. But Massachusetts is also one of the most segregated and homogenous parts of the country, with many schools in Boston and throughout the suburbs consisting of 90% or more one ethnic group. My own high school, which was about an hour outside the city, was 97% white, and most of the other schools in my area shared similar demographics. This is immensely problematic because without exposure to different cultures, races, and ideologies, students have to rely on media depictions (which will always be biased) or simply regurgitate their parents’ views on the world (which will most likely also be biased). The largest issue with this homogeny is that many people do not see a problem with it and preach about equality while they hold deeply racist views. These views get perpetrated by microaggressions and seemingly innocent actions or phrases that get glossed over in daily conversations but become more problematic as they compound. When people hold racist views and cannot comprehend that they are racists, there is no hope for them to change and we will never be able to create a more equitable society.
I like how you point out the inconsistencies between our understandings of biases and how they play out in the real world. It is much easier to point to a different state or high school that seems more outwardly racist or sexist or segregated, but harder to accept these realities within our own experiences. Exposure to other people is the most important factor in eliminating biases, and for many of us, myself included, our experiences leading up to and as students at Richmond have not been incredibly diverse.
I was on a similar page with you at first – thinking that a test revealing our biases meant that we are bad people. But when you do take time to look at the situation surrounding you, whether that is at home or in a classroom, you begin to understand how these biases are reinforced even despite having a good level of awareness. Like you touched on, I think one of the scariest things about our current society is how blind people are to discrimination and inequalities (whether that blindness is intentional or not is a whole other debate).
I appreciate you sharing you experience in your town and how you view homogeneous parts of the country as problematic. I grew up with a similar experience in a sheltered predominantly white, liberal town and I definitely agree with you. The lack of exposure to other people, cultures, and traditions can be harmful and work to develop implicit biases that influence their interactions later in life. Until these biases are realized and worked to be undone these people will remain unaware of their part issues such as discrimination.
Your last statement, “When people hold racist views and cannot comprehend that they are racists, there is no hope for them to change and we will never be able to create a more equitable society.” really stood out to me. I believe that incidents that occur are teaching moments, however, it is difficult to learn in a situation where no wrong is seen by the individual. I wonder how often individuals view there to be eno issue with what they have said.