The Bias Adjuster

I can’t help but wonder did Derek Chauvin have any truly close and intimate relationships with Black people? If I were a betting woman I would say NO...not in his whole life. Maybe a few acquaintances here or there , some Black folks he went to school with , maybe fb friends, coworkers ,but nothing truly intimate that involved the formation of love, empathy and understanding. He may not have been able to imagine George Floyd as himself , or his brother, or father , or uncle due to his strong ingroup (White) biases. And add his negative stereotypes about Black people and personality type and it is perfect recipe for the death he caused and where he is now. But maybe if for once in his life he took the time to develop truly intimate relationships with Black people and develop true cultural competency , he would have been able to see George beyond a stereotype, as HUMAN and get his damn knee off his neck. Today he was held accountable for not addressing his biases and his personality before he killed our brother George Floyd.

What type of training are they receiving???Obviously not based in psychological science and helping them understand how their negative attitudes about the people they are suppose to be protecting and serving are bound to come out in the behaviors (especially when under high stress conditions). Civilians have every right to fear their lives when their lives are in the hands of people who at the root see them as NEGATIVE (whether they realize it or not).They are not getting the training or the real world experiences that stop them from seeing Black people as not human and until that happens it won’t matter how their training teaches them to go for their dominant side for the gun and nondominant side for the taser. This is a tragedy and their will unfortunately be more of our brothers and sisters who face this tragedy if we don’t shift the minds and the behaviors , not just the policies.