Even if someone is harbouring racist, sexist or homophobic prejudices, if they do not reveal them externally at all, they are doing all we as a society can ask of them. Ideally, they will reflect on them & try to change them but we have no right to tell ppl what flaws to work on.
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I see my own biases mostly when I am surprised. I have been surprised by a South Asian woman wanting to stroke my dogs, by a straight man wanting to talk primarily about the social & psychological nuances of interactions & by a young gay man moralistically deploring polyamory.
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Biases are something we get from society. Sometimes they are unjustified prejudices we pick up & sometimes they are patterns we accurately note. Either way, when spotted in yourself, it is good to be aware of them & remind yourself of the importance of treating ppl as individuals
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LOL! As I speak, a 21-year-old male friend has just messaged me to ask me to help him think of anniversary gifts for his parents. There might be some gender & age-related assumptions going on in his head there.
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But, yes, generally, if you assume that someone will have certain biases because they are white or male or heterosexual or cisgendered, consider that it might be you who needs to examine your own biases.
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Yesterday, someone was talking about the entitlement of SocJus types who think everyone has a responsibility to prioritise their key issue & I think that is a sound observation.
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We all have a moral responsibility not to impact society negatively with any prejudices we might have & it's generally good to be reflective about this. But we do not have the right to make others prioritise what is most important to us.
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You can suggest to someone that he may want to put work into dismantling his whiteness but if he chooses to focus his social conscience on raising money for Water Aid & Cancer Research, better recycling services in his area & supporting a lonely, disabled elderly neighbour...
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...you might just have to settle for him not doing or saying anything racist & leave his suspected unconscious racial biases alone.
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Biases can be accurate and useful, or not. Go ahead, walk through a dark alley in Baltimore on a Friday night.
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This does not relate to the context of the discussion.
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Helen you are one of the main reasons I check my twitter feed. Thank you for your contributions, truly. The world needs more of your consideration, courage and intellect. - 1 more reply
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My biggest problem has been those who often assume I have warped biases and prejudices because of my skin color, but they think it’s perfectly fine for them to harbor even worse prejudices, and to voice them openly.
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I can’t count how many times I’ve had people in all settings, even in professional ones, and even strangers, voice their ugly bigotry to me because they assume that since I’m white, I’ll agree with them. Much of the time, they are not white (I live in a majority POC community).
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Much "implicit bias" research has proven completely false, as well. People aren't nearly as prejudiced as the social justice folks would like them to be. The world would be a happier place if we focused on positive, visible improvements instead of blaming people for existing.
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Thank you. The SJWs have a supply problem. That's why they call *everyone* racist- there are relatively few really racist people- besides them.
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Openly racist pols, parties & policies are gaining traction worldwide & an infamous Nazi rally/riot occurred 25 mins from where I grew up. Forgive me, “woke” Internet ppl, if I don’t have time for your article about how “it turns out, YOU’VE been the real racist this whole time!”
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These folks will still be wittering on about the fine points of our moral responsibility to fine tune our thoughts when faced with "gay dwarves of color" while the oceans boil and millions die in endless pointless wars to make the world safe for gay dwarves of color & allies.
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Oh dear. What color will the gay dwarves be?
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Dusty Rose if my daughter has anything to say about it.
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Bright rose pink if my mother does.
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