'Those Hooligans!'

Amanda

Good post. This is something I have thought about for years. I have the unique position of being a baby boomer, a member of a racial minority and someone who has lived in several countries. At various times I have been on the receiving end of someone's biases, or have overheard others argue vociferously about "those people." A few times they have forgotten briefly that I am one of "those" and have tried to draw me in as a supporter one of their  hyper-critical conversations. At other times I am pointed to as the exceptional one in my group!

I am also interested in decision making and the use of heuristics to make decisions. That is we all use "shortcuts" or generalizations to come to an opinion. We would be painfully slow and overwhelmed if we had to critically analyze each situation very single time. We unconsciously say "if this, then that" several times a day. The problem is when the generalizations are all overwhelmingly negative and/or too broad.

Studies have shown there are generational differences in values, use of technology, approach to life/work etc.  But that's not necessarily all bad, and it's a "general" difference, so there are exceptions among individuals.

One simple way of looking at individuals versus groups is to get to know someone in that group. Find out "those people" are not all hooligans; find out some are just bored, some just want to challenge temselves to do more physically, some are just competitive, some work hard at their craft, some are just like me!

We tend to defend our biases. So I think admitting we have biases (some of which are unfounded) is also a good start.

Enlist.