Short posts about the Humanist philosophy designed to encourage people to live ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.
A conversation about race, privilege and the importance of compassion so that we can get through this - and create the future we want.
One of the things I keep reminding people about is that - we are in a changing period and the resistance - including the violent resistance - is actually a predicted part of the change process. Unfortunately.
Understanding what is going on behaviorally - can help you - focus on what we need to do - to create the change we want.
I love this - because it address - unintentional discrimination which we need to deal with. Unintentional discrimination is not intentional - but it still causes harm. We need to deal with that effectively.
The other thing it discusses is to think long term about racism in the workplace. Some of what is happening - is structural. And it goes back a LONG LONG time. Pretending that the laws and organizational structures that were developed - weren't developed to control and exclude - is silly. We have to dismantle these things that cause harm.
#racism #discrimination #workplaceculture
One of the things I teach is how to use behavioral science to stop bullying and harassment in the workplace. This can at least help you fix the intentional racism that crops up from time to time. I also have programs on how to control your unconcious biases as well. So check out the courses - and let me help you change the culture of your organization. https://humanistlearning.com/programsoffered/
To help us all get to the heart of the problem of implicit bias - I want to do an exercise in honesty.
First - I want you to view the video of the shooting of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man shot while jogging in GA by 2 white men who said they were concerned about burgleries in the area.
Think about how you are feeling. Is there any conflict? Is part of you thinking - well - they should not use force, but I understand why they were patrolling the neighborhood? And if he just stopped as these 2 men asked - then he wouldn't have been shot? Be honest about what you think about this.
Next I want you to watch a recreation of the entire sequence but with the skin color of the participants - reversed.
Be honest
Now how do you feel about the shooting? Any different? Probably. Most white people in America will have different emotional reactions to the first and 2nd video - even though - they are exactly the same - just the skin color of the participants reversed.
That different feeling you have - is your implicit bias. We all have implicit biases. It is why as a white person - the first one - I feel bad about the jogger, but I don't necessarily see the white guys as a threat. In the 2nd one - it's a white guy - being stalked by 2 large armed black men and - I can see why the white guy has no intention of stopping to talk to these guys. This is the honesty about my instincts I was talking about. And I know I'm not alone.
Our implicit biases are our instincts. What we are taught to fear or embrace. THIS is what needs to change. And the way we change that is by becoming aware of our implicit biases. That is the first step.
Ideally - we should get to a point where the two videos - look the same to us.
But the only way to get there - is to acknowledge - that at the moment - they aren't. We don't need to be ashamed about our implicit biases - we just need to acknowledge we have them.
To help us get there - I offer a free uncover and control your implicit bias online program. It includes links to implicit bias tests you can take. It's really eye opening. I encourage you to take the 2 hours it takes to do this course. https://humanistlearning.com/controlling-our-unconscious-bias/
This is the work we need to do as a country. The reason the men who hunted and shot Arbery were not arrested or even charged is because of bias. The DA thought they had reasonable cause to hunt down and shot this innocent man. They didn't. And a quick look at the reversed video - makes that clear.
So - let's not tolerate this sort of biased justice anymore and hold ourselves to a better standard and create the sort of society where all members of society - live without fear.
We all have a sense of fairness. And when we aren't treated fairly - we get cranky. Whether people acknowledgement or not - we all have biases. And these biases impact our decision making.
One of the impact of this is that women and minorities - just aren't hired for jobs - they probably should be. And I talk to people who say - well - maybe they just aren't as talented - as the men. But ... there is plenty of research on eliminating gender and minority markers - has a positive impact on "diversity" hiring. The process - becomes more fair.
Here is a video about it. Correcting for cognitive biases - taking affirmative action to correct for bias - yields better results. Not just for diversity - but for the quality of people hired. Because - let's face it - if the best person is a woman of color - and they are being discounted because of their gender and skin tone - then you aren't hiring the objectively best person for the job.
A big part of effective decision making and critical thinking skills - is learning to overcome your biases - so that you can make good decisions - based on what is objectively good - and not what you biasedly think is good.
This impacts - every decision you make! So please - learn critical thinking skills and please learn about how to uncover and control your hidden biases.
