In the Ted talk “Want a more just world? Be an unlikely ally,” Nita Mosby Tyler teaches about the importance of supporting and contributing to social justice movements. In America, the fight for social justice has been tiring and never-ending, and one of the reasons for this is the abundance of bystanders in our country. For example, in the sixties, when Tyler’s family was denied a table at a restaurant, white families did not stand up for them and demand that the restaurant allow them to eat. There are many social issues today that people disregard even if they witness discrimination or derogatory language. As one of Tyler’s teachers said, “justice requires an accomplice,” and it is equally important that someone who is not being directly discriminated against stand up to bigotry as it is for the person affected by it.
The podcast “The Air We Breathe” discusses how implicit bias leads to police shootings. The podcast opens by retelling the murder of an unarmed black man named Terence Crutcher by a police officer. Crutcher’s sister believed the officer murdered her brother because he was black while the officer’s daughter states that her mother did not have bad intentions. The podcast explains how both Crutcher’s sister and Officer Shelby’s daughter may both be correct. Tests have been designed to prove a form of subconscious bias in our society, meaning people can show signs of bias without being consciously racist. While Officer Shelby may not have killed Terrence Crutcher with hate in her heart, his death was from Officer Shelby’s implicit bias. Studies of implicit bias do not only show individuals’ thoughts and biases, rather it shows the thumbprint of our culture.
These two podcasts are connected because they both address reasons for the long battle for social justice. Tyler explains that the country needs those who are not discriminated against to act as upstanders and help those in need, and the podcast explains that one reason for the long battle for justice and the lack of upstanders is because of implicit bias and a cultural problem involving bias being rooted in our society.
As discrimination continues to be a big problem today in America, the video and podcast inspired me to be an upstander if I should witness an act of bias, and to disregard any subconscious bias that I may have. Many people do not get involved in social issues if it does not directly affect them and they are unsure how or if they should help, but the Ted talk shows the importance of showing support to people that need it.
I think you did a really great job of explaining both what the podcast and the ted talk are about. I agree with how you said they are connected because they both address the battle of social justice. People need to stand up to discrimination, whether it directly involves them or not, in order for real change to occur.
While hearing you speak about implicit bias and how it is not conscious racism made me think about how implicit bias could be more dangerous than racism itself. Implicit bias is more hidden than blatant racism, harder to change, more widespread, and it comes out during times we don’t expect it to. I agree that control over our thoughts and changing society are ways to navigate implicit bias.