“I WANT TO LIFT THE VEIL OF DELUSION THAT SEPARATES US.”

Veil of delusion. Intense words. A delusion implies an irrational belief, so for Anurag Gupta to voice this desire…this attempt to lift a veil of delusion, he must have his own rational argument behind Be More. As I looked through the website some more, I saw that his argument is very smart. I immediately agreed with this distinction between race and ethnicity, nationality, and culture. I identify my ethnicity as Pakistani, my nationality as American, and my culture as Punjabi, however, I do not identify as any race. Is this form of identification even necessary? I seem to manage without it.

I recently came across an article in The New York Times highlighting inequities based on race. Here is an excerpt from When Whites Just Don’t Get It, by Nicholas Kristoff:

LET’S start with a quiz. When researchers sent young whites and blacks out to interview for low-wage jobs in New York City armed with equivalent résumés, the result was:

A) Whites and blacks were hired at similar rates.
B) Blacks had a modest edge because of affirmative action.
C) Whites were twice as likely to get callbacks.

The answer is C, and a black applicant with a clean criminal record did no better than a white applicant who was said to have just been released from 18 months in prison.

This is a prime example of the veil of delusion in action. It reminds me of a joke I see repeatedly on social media where people with stereotypically black names never even make into an interview room. Yet this is most definitely not funny. Its not enough to reflect on unconscious bias as individuals. We must actively try to correct ourselves…to correct these unintentional decisions based on race…in our daily lives. It seems to me that the Be More organization is doing important work. Biases may be deeply rooted in our subconscious, but we must attempt to unroot them…even if it means tearing up the ground.

“Because I’m Latino, I can’t have money?”

Watching that video, I realized the extent to which children are effected by unconscious bias. I recall a time when I was in middle school, and someone asked me if my dad worked at a 7/11. I was slapped in the face with a stereotype. It did not feel good. And it didn’t matter if my dad worked at a 7/11 or not…it was the assumption…the idea of someone categorizing me that bothered me so much. I was more than that. And I really disliked that kid. Still, I recognize that I’m probably guilty of the same unconscious bias. We all are. And we can do better.