The site, Be More, describes a very relevant issue in today’s societies: implicit biases. The site reads, “Implicit biases are ingrained habits of thought…are outside of awareness but their implications are clear to those affected by them.” Reading about implicit biases, I realize I experience it all the time, not consciously but subconsciously making assumption about strangers around me based on their appearances.
I watched the video “Being 12”, where these kids are starting to be aware of how they’re affected by biases and “white privilege”, and how black kids feel the discrimination in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. The video “A Look at Race Relations through a Child’s Eye” made me realize just how much young kids feel the prejudice. It horrified me how much racism affects such young children—how black kids were told not to play with white kids, and how kids looking at pictures of black and white kids in certain situations assumed the worst about the black kids. This is aside from the bullying and conscious racism that is seen more as kids get older (as shown in the video “Being 12”)! I always knew racism existed but to see how kids are made fun of hits hard. I understand that it starts in elementary schools, but it doesn’t stop there.
Anurag Gupta, creator of the site, is trying to mend these issues. He says: “At Be More, we want to transform our consciousness from ‘What is your race’ to ‘We are one human race’”. He finishes, “I want to lift the veil of illusion that separates us.” When it comes to lifting the veil and coming together as a race, it all comes down to mindfulness. In the article, “How Mindfulness Can Defeat Racial Bias”, Rhonda Magee discusses how being mindful and “colorblind” are not the same thing.
What I find amazing is what Gupta mentions in the video “How Be More Hacks Unconscious Bias”. He describes what I just mentioned, about how although not intentional, many people are inclined to be biased to certain appearances. His goal is to create awareness of this and prevent these biases by training professionals to be aware of the biases and be mindful. And he is not the only one.
I recently did a report on social media and it’s affects on society. And the most positive affect was its progress in uniting people of all backgrounds and blurring the divide between different “races”. Many people actively use social media to help stop racism, using hashtags like #blacklivesmatter and promoting anti-racism programs. But even without actively preventing racism like Gupta and many others on social media, the unity that the cyber world creates on its own is helping bring people together and remove mindless prejudices.
Similarly, Dr. James Doty, dean of Stanford University started The Center for Compassion And Altruism Research And Education, where he commits to help better society and eliminate racism through compassion. “Compassion will ultimately save our species” (Dr. James Doty). The “compassion project” that this dean started is an amazing concept, although idealistic. If people were just a little more mindful, a little more compassionate, the world would definitely be a better place.
