{"id":154971,"date":"2024-05-23T10:32:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-23T14:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/rwddev\/?p=154971"},"modified":"2024-05-23T22:40:17","modified_gmt":"2024-05-24T02:40:17","slug":"bias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/bias\/","title":{"rendered":"Bias: The unnecessary act of hoarding frustration, anger and hate | Commentary"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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By James Bowler<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

<\/broadstreet-zone><\/strong><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We are ALL born with bias. Read that again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn\u2019t 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I grew up in Trenton, Ontario, in the 80s and 90s. It wasn\u2019t 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\u2019t 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\u2019t go into specifics again because it would take a while to run through all my experiences, but I\u2019m 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The one thing I learned is that it\u2019s okay that I was born with bias, it\u2019s okay because I had no control over that happening around me, because I was a child. What wasn\u2019t okay was when I was old enough to critically challenge those biases, I didn\u2019t. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personal change is an experience that can be related to climbing mount everest, several times over. You have to be ready for it, it\u2019s not going to be easy, and you\u2019re 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\u2019re ready for it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not here telling you that you need to change right now, that everything you\u2019re 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\u2019s not your fault you feel the way you do, but it\u2019s 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\u2019s not hurting others, we all have the right to our own beliefs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019re being asked to do it, because you\u2019re questioning someone else\u2019s beliefs. If you\u2019re asking or telling a person to question their own beliefs, shouldn\u2019t you at least be also willing to do the same? It\u2019s only fair, and that\u2019s what this is all about, right? Fairness.<\/p>\n\n\n

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<\/p>\n\n\n\n

James is a local journalist who has worked in Muskoka for nearly a decade. He\u2019s an avid advocate for diversity and inclusion and for normalizing the conversation around mental health. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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<\/broadstreet-zone>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By James Bowler We are ALL born with bias. 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