So it is clear to me that I need to stay far away from any Human Resources jobs that become available because I can't abandon my own biases even if my life depended on it.
From the results of our hiring exercise, it is clear that most of us can't abandon them either, which is why most people in the class automatically placed the Japanese man in a position that involved math.
So far we've also talked about the biases we all carry inside, and if one thing is true, it's that we ALL have them. All of us at one point or another have heard our family members say something mean about someone from another ethnic background- I know I certainly have. Cubans tend to have a very negative image of black people, especially older Cubans. This kind of mentality has even seeped into conversations I've had with my father. And the sad part of all this is that from time to time I find myself thinking the same things.
Take this picture for example:
I couldn't help but laugh when I saw this (mainly because of the little boy's expression,) but at the same time, I felt horrible for doing so. It's a terrible message, and really exemplifies how we have come to think of the people in Africa. We have come to associate them with diseases, corruption, and poor neighborhoods. We never hear of any positive things, like how close knit many of their communities are, as well as their intricate ceremonies and rich history.
I'm not sure how to break with these stereotypes or even if we should at all. It's something that's a big part of how we grew up and has molded who we are today. I think our best bet, like Reisner said, is to acknowledge that we do have these biases in an effort to produce the best coverage possible.
Any thoughts?
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