By James Bowler
We are ALL born with bias. Read that again.
It doesn’t matter if you grew up in Port Sydney, downtown Toronto, or within the uncontacted tribe of the Sentinelese on the isolated island of Great Nicobar. Every single person, in some way or another, is surrounded by social biases, and as a child, you soak that in as normal. For many of us, this leads to being forced to face those biases later in life. The key point is how you do that.
I grew up in Trenton, Ontario, in the 80s and 90s. It wasn’t a tiny community, but it was, in a lot of ways, isolated. We had a primarily white population, and most jobs centered around factory/millwork or the military airbase. My entire childhood was surrounded by the bias of a small-town white community, which means biases that may relate to that socioeconomic environment. I won’t go into all of them, but needless to say, while I have always considered myself a good person, I will say that my young adult life was spent refusing to admit many of my beliefs were wrong. Then, I moved out of Ontario in my late 20s. I saw the culture-rich Canada for what it truly is: a beautiful place with amazing people. This led me on a journey of self-realization that eventually shaped me into the much more open-minded person I am today. I won’t go into specifics again because it would take a while to run through all my experiences, but I’m always happy to chat about it in person if you ever catch me by the arm out in the wild because they were extremely positive experiences.
The one thing I learned is that it’s okay that I was born with bias, it’s okay because I had no control over that happening around me, because I was a child. What wasn’t okay was when I was old enough to critically challenge those biases, I didn’t. I stuck my head in the sand, until my eyes were eventually forced open, not by anyone else, but by my own journey and self-reflection.
Personal change is an experience that can be related to climbing mount everest, several times over. You have to be ready for it, it’s not going to be easy, and you’re going to slip a few times along the way and maybe slide back down. The important thing is you keep trying, but you can only do that if the first prerequisite is met, you’re ready for it.
I’m not here telling you that you need to change right now, that everything you’re thinking is wrong and you should feel bad about it. Quite the opposite. No one should feel targeted or segregated for the biases they had no control over being brought into their lives. It’s not your fault you feel the way you do, but it’s important to consider how your biases may impact others. Because we are all human, we all have a right to be born and live on this planet, and as long as it’s not hurting others, we all have the right to our own beliefs.
A common question I hear is why should I be the one to reflect on or question my personal beliefs? My answer is this: for the very same reason you’re being asked to do it, because you’re questioning someone else’s beliefs. If you’re asking or telling a person to question their own beliefs, shouldn’t you at least be also willing to do the same? It’s only fair, and that’s what this is all about, right? Fairness.
James is a local journalist who has worked in Muskoka for nearly a decade. He’s an avid advocate for diversity and inclusion and for normalizing the conversation around mental health.
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I lived in a place west of you. Racists and lots of bigotry. Today it is take over. Our politicians have allowed a take over of our country. Think about it! Nothing to do with individuals just political power.
Awesome message James, especially in these times of division and hate.
Your initial statement is completely false!
No newborn has every been born biased.
It is definitely learned after birth.
Your other observations are accurate.
Biases and prejudices are deeply entrenched. Really entrenched. Like it or not, we all have them. Through education, conversations, and a commitment to awareness, we can change.
We do have a right to our own beliefs but, when our beliefs transfer into actions or words that harm others – there’s a problem. There does appear to be a lot of hate out there. I think there always has been but social media and some politicians and, Facebook don’t help.
On a related note, I’ve noticed that many (and I do mean many) Facebook posts, memes, supposed quotes, and pics are often and subtly stereotyped, generalized, racist, sexist, age-negative, gender negative, just plain not true, and so on. Please think before you post. Although our knee jerk reaction is to laugh or ‘like’ please think before you respond. It is sometimes “flippantly shared.“
You’re right, James, in my opinion; consider your biases. Question your belief system. Consider how your biases may impact others.
It’s a process.
Thank you, James, for your input. We too, lived in Trenton for a while. It was a lovely community. You’re quite right; it was a predominantly Caucasian community.
Thank you James for your well considered message. There’s a lot of hate out there and I’m sometimes shocked at how flippantly it is now shared.
Well said, James. It is the very least we can do.