Unconscious Bias and Stereotypes: What I Encountered Within
Set perceptions on life can close the door on the many possibilities the world has to offer
“We are three orphans from Ethiopia. Today we are…” As the presenter read the story starter, my partner and I imagined how we would finish it. “We are three orphans from Ethiopia. Today we are rummaging for food in the streets of our village. We are hungry and scared.” As we finished that story starter and others like it, we felt sure that our impressions were an accurate example of the plight of others in the world.
The presenters, women involved in conflict resolution and peace education in Denmark, finished the story starters for us after we wrote our drafts. They put pictures up on a screen that in every case totally contradicted our perceptions. The orphans were healthy, smiling and playing in a field of teff, Ethiopia’s staple grain.
“Wow, were we wrong in our perceptions!” I exclaimed to my partner who is also from the USA. He was as embarrassed as I was at our obvious stereotypes. As I listened to the presenters, I realized that people from all over the world made the same mistakes and shared similar perceptions. This moment was life changing for me. For the next few years, I would explore perceptions and help others to see what I saw by doing this exercise repeatedly in my workshops. The stereotypes exist everywhere I go.
This incident was just one that touched my heart and soul during a hot summer week in 1995. I was scheduled to speak at the Fifth World Congress International Educators for Peace Conference in Vermont, U.S.A. At the time, I was “new” to public speaking and a beginner on my path to seeking insights and solutions to peace: peace in the world, peace in schools and most importantly, peace within myself. The greatest challenge and joy would not come from speaking, but rather would come from what I encountered within myself. The experience with the story starters was only the beginning.
At lunch, I sat at a table with people from France, Egypt, Canada, U.S.A., Africa, India, and Denmark. Lunch discussion brought out issues around the definition of violence. A woman from Canada looked at me and claimed, “You Americans define violence as a physical act…