The world today seems to have exploded
with biases. But, then again, it probably always was that way, just not
advertised as much. With the advent of mass media, alternate ways of decimating
viewpoints, the information overload is twirling people’s mind, questioning
their own biases.
All the arguments discussed in public
via Facebook or on CNN panel, each side push their agenda, each side make sense
to many after a while and then everything becomes noise. Right or wrong become
fuzzy.
The thing is that humans are born with
biases, adopt a label or two and even some sort of stereotypes. We become hard
wired with our opinions in all sorts of issues. The biggest discussion that
hurts my heart the most is the biases based on gender and race.
Based on our innate nature, we label
people and interact according to the label we have attached to them. When a
girl or boy child is born to a couple, she or he is nurtured based on societal gender
norms. Selective colors and toys these children are made to associate with and
a definition of their place in society is affixed, allowing for even more
labels to be attached and stereotypes formed.
Gender fluidity, on the other hand sets
the stage for that child to grow up as an individual, a human being who can go
down a path based on her or his innate qualities. When we take the labeling and
as a result, stereotypes out, we are allowing a human being to be a good
citizen of the world. That world citizen is then free and able to carve a path
for her or his self on their, and ultimately, the human race’s success.
Same thing applies to biases on Race.
Seeing a woman in a headscarf, a person of a different skin tone or an
individual with ethnic features leads to a mental block. Most of us do not
attempt to look behind the curtain of whatever label we have stamped on them
from face value. We have already made up our mind on that individual before
even saying hello.
Bringing it down to a more “ordinary”
level, we apply labels to everybody we interact with. Seeing a woman at the
mall wearing trendy clothes and high heels, we classify her as an upper-class
snob. When we see a teenager with a hoody coming our way down the path in the
neighborhood, we immediately cross the street. Or in the case of the woman who
comes to clean your house or man who comes to mow your lawn, we form an opinion
that she and he is uneducated, whereas they may be a Master’s degree holder in
the country of their origin and have figured out that there’s more money in
running their own business cleaning or mowing than in working for a company as
an underpaid employee because of their inability to converse in the language of
their adopted country. To state the
cliché, we are judging these books by their cover and labeling our biases
accordingly.
We, as a human race, need to scratch the
surface, go beyond and meet eye to eye every individual at a human level. We
need to empty our minds and become open to discovery. Allow our biases to
recede and flow away as we introduce fluidity of an open mind. Instead of
having heated discussion or arguing over whether men are better than women or
vice versa, acknowledge that each gender is different and complimentary to each
other. We are pieces of a large, grand design puzzle who fit together to make a
whole. This mindset will help us take away the question of gender and race all
together and allow an individual to be. Just Be.
Just Be.
