Fighting Bias

Quote: “We can also work for an awareness of the ways our culture and position of privilege shape our listening by questioning the things we take for granted as listeners.”

                The chapter of critical and compassionate listening goes into details on how individuals can increase their empathetic and compassionate listening skills. Some people just hear when others are talking, but listening takes understanding the meaning and emotions of the sender of the message. In this blog we will look at how privilege allows for people to not find common understanding, unpacking the quotes relevancy in this class before lastly looking at the implications that fall on both sides of the spectrum.

                When a person is privileged it is easier for that individual to avoid experiences that would allow them to open their eyes, because the problems do not directly relate to them. In an article from the Huffington author Lori Lakin Hutcherson goes into detail about an interaction in a Harvard classroom when a student who was supposed to read a Malcom X book says it isn’t necessary because they couldn’t relate to the story. From this I have two separate analysis, first this illustrates how easy it is for those privileged to ignore other people’s past experiences and write them off as individual cases rather than systematic problems. The second being how easy it is for that student to push away that History because they never experienced it. Also, it fails to realize that students of color should constantly learn history of predominately white figures pushing a mindset that creates inequality.

                The above story portrays just how easy it is for certain groups in our society to ignore how their positions in the world give them privilege. Due to the facts that certain groups are minorities in society it allows for most content consumed by individuals is from the majority perspective. The quote above asks us to question things that have become normalized, and I believe doing that is a positive step in the right direction for society acknowledging some privilege barriers. According to NPR.org only 28% dialogue roles in Hollywood are from non-white ethnic groups. From a young age it is normalized for white people to be the superheroes and love interests. It is something we are never taught to question, but instead we are incentivized to eat the cake, however the cake is a lie.

                Trying to see one another’s life experiences, and understanding that people are treated differently is an essential step in moving in the direction of harmony. It is important for people to acknowledge selective biases, and instead of avoiding, actively start to embrace hard conversations people can start to listen from another individuals perspective.

Sources:

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/02/22/467665890/hollywood-has-a-major-diversity-problem-usc-study-finds

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-i-said-when-my-white-friend-asked-for-my-black_us_578c0770e4b0b107a2415b89