Hidden Bias
I'm typing this at 5:30AM in my hotel room in Atlanta, GA, USA. Why? I've been kept awake in a semi-conscious state by loud music in the room next door to me. I went to bed at 1AM and heard the music. I thought the people next door would go to sleep shortly thereafter. I reawoke at 3AM and still heard the music. A deep pulsating bass echoing through the walls.
At times the music would fade and I thought that would be the end of it. It was not to be. Finally at 5AM after tossing and turning in my semi-conscious state I called the front desk to put an end to it. They did - she told me she would contact the police if it continued. Why I didn't call sooner I'm not sure, probably in my head I "Didn't want to cause any trouble." Perhaps what finally convinced me to cause "trouble" was subconsciously thinking about how Mrs. Rosa Parks defiance of segregation bus laws in Montgomery, AL, where I was earlier today, about 50 years ago, helped to take the civil rights movement to a new level in the USA. The difference one courageous individual can make!
But that's not the focus of this journal entry. While I was tossing & turning I was visualizing the people next door. Based on the type of music and voices, in my head I visualized 2 or 3 black people. I also wondered whether a couple of them might look like a couple of cute black girls I saw at the Rosa Parks museum. At 4 AM I think I was lightly dreaming that I would knock on their door and ask if they needed another body to party. I didn't do that. But at 5:10AM, after the music stopped by request, I did get up and go to the bathroom. I heard a commotion outside and looked through the peephole.
Walking across the hallway was a woman wearing only a towel after going in the pool. Followed by her boyfriend/husband. She was making a commotion about forgetting her room key and needing another.
They weren't black. They were as white as the walls of this room.
And just why did I think these people were black? Wishful thinking (The 2 girl thing)? Or that the perpetrators of this "crime" in keeping me awake would more likely be black? A bit of both I think. The former is Sigmund Freud's territory, the latter I want to talk about. Here it is - subtle bias. Affecting me when I didn't have the full use of my mind (My semi-conscious state) - I'm usually pretty good about detecting bias in my viewpoints when it comes to race while "awake." I should have had no reason to think they would be black. No young blacks checked in around the time I checked in - just a young white couple walking down the hall as I brought in my luggage.
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Perhaps to find the reason why, I need to explain to you another thing I've thought about during this road trip. The subtle and hidden bias of how color of skin can perhaps influence everyday choices which may in turn subtly influence racial opinions - in either/any direction. In this instance that white/lighter is good/superior, and black/dark is bad/inferior.
One of them I noticed just today. In Montgomery, AL lies the first Confederate White House during the US Civil War before it moved to Richmond, Virginia for 3 more years. I never thought of the US having more than 1 White House. What color is that house again?
Often times I need to see something out of context to learn something from it. As I did in Brazil when I saw a Portugese Imperial house that looked more suited for Europe than the forests near Rio. That lesson is for another day.
Maybe it is just a coincidence? I don't think an all black painted presidential home would look good. Why wasn't an in-between color chosen originally? Or a different official name symbolizing the apex of American power? Presidential House? American House? and so on.... It could just be that the unlit black darkness of the past was more scary than the daytime or something along those lines (Clean vs dirty too). Or just the color of the materials or paint (But why white then?). Some research into the naming of the Whitehouse would be helpful. And comparing it to the name of other countries' presidential homes. Whether the naming with color was deliberate or unintentional I suspect there may be effects that can contribute to a subtle bias.
Does this line of thought even have any weight or relevance when it comes to talking about racial bias in the US, or anywhere for that matter? I'll admit what I just wrote is a bit on the weak side. Although I could explain it more to improve it though this is just a journal entry. I also noticed something similar possibly after visiting the Idaho Potato museum - but that requires more research on my part. This is a start of a line of inquiry which may result in a dead end. More on this in a future article I write hopefully. (Don't hold your breath for this one though)
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Reference to Teddy Roosevelt officially naming White House (Whitehouse.gov) - doesn't say why though
At times the music would fade and I thought that would be the end of it. It was not to be. Finally at 5AM after tossing and turning in my semi-conscious state I called the front desk to put an end to it. They did - she told me she would contact the police if it continued. Why I didn't call sooner I'm not sure, probably in my head I "Didn't want to cause any trouble." Perhaps what finally convinced me to cause "trouble" was subconsciously thinking about how Mrs. Rosa Parks defiance of segregation bus laws in Montgomery, AL, where I was earlier today, about 50 years ago, helped to take the civil rights movement to a new level in the USA. The difference one courageous individual can make!
But that's not the focus of this journal entry. While I was tossing & turning I was visualizing the people next door. Based on the type of music and voices, in my head I visualized 2 or 3 black people. I also wondered whether a couple of them might look like a couple of cute black girls I saw at the Rosa Parks museum. At 4 AM I think I was lightly dreaming that I would knock on their door and ask if they needed another body to party. I didn't do that. But at 5:10AM, after the music stopped by request, I did get up and go to the bathroom. I heard a commotion outside and looked through the peephole.
Walking across the hallway was a woman wearing only a towel after going in the pool. Followed by her boyfriend/husband. She was making a commotion about forgetting her room key and needing another.
They weren't black. They were as white as the walls of this room.
And just why did I think these people were black? Wishful thinking (The 2 girl thing)? Or that the perpetrators of this "crime" in keeping me awake would more likely be black? A bit of both I think. The former is Sigmund Freud's territory, the latter I want to talk about. Here it is - subtle bias. Affecting me when I didn't have the full use of my mind (My semi-conscious state) - I'm usually pretty good about detecting bias in my viewpoints when it comes to race while "awake." I should have had no reason to think they would be black. No young blacks checked in around the time I checked in - just a young white couple walking down the hall as I brought in my luggage.
---
Perhaps to find the reason why, I need to explain to you another thing I've thought about during this road trip. The subtle and hidden bias of how color of skin can perhaps influence everyday choices which may in turn subtly influence racial opinions - in either/any direction. In this instance that white/lighter is good/superior, and black/dark is bad/inferior.
One of them I noticed just today. In Montgomery, AL lies the first Confederate White House during the US Civil War before it moved to Richmond, Virginia for 3 more years. I never thought of the US having more than 1 White House. What color is that house again?
Often times I need to see something out of context to learn something from it. As I did in Brazil when I saw a Portugese Imperial house that looked more suited for Europe than the forests near Rio. That lesson is for another day.
Maybe it is just a coincidence? I don't think an all black painted presidential home would look good. Why wasn't an in-between color chosen originally? Or a different official name symbolizing the apex of American power? Presidential House? American House? and so on.... It could just be that the unlit black darkness of the past was more scary than the daytime or something along those lines (Clean vs dirty too). Or just the color of the materials or paint (But why white then?). Some research into the naming of the Whitehouse would be helpful. And comparing it to the name of other countries' presidential homes. Whether the naming with color was deliberate or unintentional I suspect there may be effects that can contribute to a subtle bias.
Does this line of thought even have any weight or relevance when it comes to talking about racial bias in the US, or anywhere for that matter? I'll admit what I just wrote is a bit on the weak side. Although I could explain it more to improve it though this is just a journal entry. I also noticed something similar possibly after visiting the Idaho Potato museum - but that requires more research on my part. This is a start of a line of inquiry which may result in a dead end. More on this in a future article I write hopefully. (Don't hold your breath for this one though)
---
Reference to Teddy Roosevelt officially naming White House (Whitehouse.gov) - doesn't say why though
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