Can we talk about racism and how that sometimes looks like rumors and gossip and drama mongering?
Let’s start by explaining how bias can impact how we judge the value of information. As a rule, people tend to trust information that more closely aligns with their previously held beliefs over information that contradicts them. If we consciously or subconsciously believe something to be true, we will hold information that supports that hypothesis to be more valuable and believable than information that doesn’t support it.
So if I know that I REALLY like coffee, and I read five studies that drinking coffee in copious amounts is bad for you, and one, poorly done study that says drinking twelve pots of coffee in a day will allow you to meet your gods and transcend this plane of existence before evolving into a being of pure energy, I’m probably going to value the information in that last study a lot more than I would the other five.
As a scientist, it is my job to acknowledge my biases and make it a point to consistently unpack them and focus on the data itself, analyze it, think about the things it is telling me and not telling me, and actively work to acknowledge and mitigate my biases.
When we’re dealing with things in a social setting, those biases can be reflected in how we feel about the people around us — and why we’ve decided to side with one person over another, or why we’ve decided we don’t like the people we don’t like.
Initially, we have issues like cultural differences being a barrier to interaction. In my culture, direct, honest, and blunt communication is a staple. To dance around a concept is to imply that you find the other person too weak or soft-minded to handle the truth. If I say to someone “Did you not learn how to wash a dish?” I am not trying to insult you, I’m genuinely asking if there is some gap in your knowledge. We all have things we are not good at, and it is not a judgement, but a question with an intended follow up: would you like me to show you how to do dishes? Is there a problem with the set up that makes it difficult? Is there some way you are used to working that is impossible with the current situation? Let’s problem solve together.
When I interact with Americans, I find that the direct approach is considered rude, which leads to conflicts because I don’t always understand the indirect approach (which I also find rude).
That conflict alone is born out of an ignorance of different cultural communication styles, and one that could be solved by making space for each other — and a conversation. Refusing to acknowledge that or interact with it or make space for it is choosing racism. It’s a problem that could easily be solved by giving each other some leeway and assuming positive intent.
This issue escalates even further when we look at the information we choose to believe about a person. If someone tells you something negative about a person, it is far easier to believe it, even if the source is questionable or the rumor is extraordinary if it is about someone you don’t like. It is easy to say “Leila is a manipulative con artist” even if there’s no reason or evidence to support that conclusion, just because you don’t like her. It’s even easier when you buy into the racist stereotypes that all Arabs are slimy con artists.
Sure, sure, you can make the argument that it isn’t about race, it’s not that you hate all Arabs, you just don’t like Leila, right?
But WHY don’t you like Leila? I mean, it isn’t like you have to like everyone. No one is expecting you to be best friends with every person on the planet — personality clashes happen. Not everyone is going to get along with everyone else, but there is a solid difference between “not getting along with” and “actively creating conflict in an attempt to punish and isolate a person.”
If you are going out of your way to make egregious and wild assumptions about a person of a different race, spread those assumptions as facts, and create conflict where it is unnecessary, chances are you are doing it out of some unaddressed racism you might want to unpack. While your white friends won’t see it, I promise you your BIPOC friends do, even if they won’t admit it to you.
It’s a pretty clear way to make sure everyone knows you aren’t safe.
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