Automatic Attitudinal Response

After reviewing my OTM post referring to President Donald Trump and the dossier scandal, I was reluctant to examine any bias I had in the post. I was convinced I tried my best to remain objective, but my bias toward BuzzFeed was consuming my ability to stay open-minded.
I mean, who doesn't love those mindless quizzes? Then I thought, who actually visits the site for news? With this automatic attitudinal response, it is no surprise that my post reflected my utter distaste for the website when it comes to reporting the facts.

“We commit cognitive errors all the time,” Babson College professor Elizabeth Thornton said.“We perceive something, and in an instant, we project our mental models, our past experiences, our backgrounds, onto whatever that is–a person, situation, or event. Oftentimes, we get it wrong.” With this in mind, it still is not grounds for throwing objectivity out the window. According to Gwen Moran's article, “How To Be Objective When You’re Emotionally Invested,” it is crucial to pinpoint your weak spots when it comes to certain topics. Essentially, if you find yourself getting defensive or starting an argument over hearing an opinion that differs from yours, your bias can lead you to think irrationally. When you begin to think irrationally, you tend to react with an emotional response rather than a logical response to defend your argument. This is clearly seen in my opening sentence, "I believe BuzzFeed made a terrible mistake by deciding to publish the Trump- Russia dossier to the public." Right away the reader recognizes my feelings against BuzzFeed. Rather than state that heavy opinion, I should've reported what was going on at the time, and then what potential consequences BuzzFeed might have endured as a result.

Another tip Moran mentions is the need to surround yourself with those who have varied opinions from yours. To an extent, I was coddled to believe one thing at home but another thing at school. With these extreme differences present in my daily life, I feel as if it has kept me grounded slightly. Rather than automatically agree with everything I heard, I was fortunate enough to get an idea from both sides. Unfortunately, I see that I did not attempt to visit the other side's thoughts when referencing the Trump sexual assault allegations. I was seeking the first article that proved my opinion, that one woman's claims were false. Using this one source, I neglected to research other women who argued the same allegations because I surrounded myself with the facts I wanted to hear.

Well Informed 2.0: Racism

After reading this Facebook post, I couldn't help but feel disgusted by a man who decided to point out the obvious- an interracial couple were on a date. Rather than elbow his wife to show her something worthwhile, he directed his pure disdain for a race different from his own. At what age do people realize their own racist tendencies? For some, I don't think they ever do.

For the longest time, I truly believed that racism was just a thing of the past. My great grandpa was a racist, and I reasoned that hateful nature was left behind in the previous generations before me. I could not have been more wrong.

I feel as if a little prejudice is engrained in every single one of us, from the way we value a person's walk to how they speak. Can this divisive thinking be fixed? Unfortunately, I do not believe that is humanly possible. However, that does not suggest that we should all give in to our racist thoughts and excuse them. I think the first step is to identify our own prejudice. It's not enough to simply say, "Oh I don't mean to be racist but..." Although people use this as a buffer, it doesn't automatically imply that what they're about to say is in anyway acceptable. It is essentially the same as saying, "Don't take offense or anything but..." Of course, someone is usually going to take offense to whatever that person says even though  that weak disclaimer was used.