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1 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Vice President Joe Biden not running for president ... Our View: A lesson in free speech ... Winding up 25 years in the pumpkin patch ... Vice President Joe Biden not running for president ... Our View: A lesson in free speech ... Winding up 25 years in the pumpkin patch ... COUNCIL CORNER Council Corner: Coping with our built-in bias Comment By John Stromberg DailyTidings.com By John Stromberg Posted Aug. 25, 2015 at 12:01 AM By John Stromberg Posted Aug. 25, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Events in Ferguson, Mo., last year and similar ones since are a watershed moment. Beyond questions of police procedures, basic conditions of life for many black people have to change. We can work on this problem collectively but we can also work individually, because it is at the individual level that long term change occurs. For me an important step was supplied by SOU President Roy Saigo when he sent me a link ( http://bit.ly/1LtwWId ) to an article in the July 4 Atlantic which I found painful to read but which rang true. Author Ta-Nehisi Coates describes conditions that are appalling and unacceptable. I don't know how many Americans would be surprised by what's described — on some level I really wasn't — but we have long forgotten or ignored them. How do we get beyond treating the unacceptable as the status quo? We have to tackle our unconscious assumptions and stereotypes. On Aug. 12, my wife, Jane, and I, together with City Councilor Pam Marsh, attended a three-hour event in Medford sponsored by the Jackson County Sheriff's Department. The subject was “Implicit Bias,” and it explained how we routinely use stereotypes when we encounter new situations and have to react quickly (as police often must). We identify what's happening in terms of what we already know, using simplified categories, i.e. stereotypes, based on our experience. This enables us to size things up quickly, but since we're providing most of the content, we run the danger of our stereotypes being far from reality, sometimes with tragic consequences. And if our stereotypes carry negative connotations, those connotations become attached to the real people. For police, this can lead to dangerous, even lethal results. In less extreme situations, the results can be insidious: misreading other people's behavior, misinterpreting their motives, misunderstanding their communications. The results can be self-reinforcing. This process is fundamental to how the conditions Coates describes are created, perpetuated and accepted as “normal” — sadly, sometimes by both sides. While the implicit bias workshop didn't delve into how some stereotypes acquire negative associations, several ideas were presented by which people — you and I — can take responsibility for our stereotypes. Two I particularly liked are: 1) Slowing things down, consciously refraining from making judgments and assumptions in favor of searching beyond first impressions for what is actually going on. (I've seen our new police chief do this. In one instance, he spoke with a group of upset people for an hour in the rain about how the police were investigating the disappearance of a local teenager. He was being criticized but did not take the criticisms personally as he sought to address everyone's questions and concerns. When the teenager was found, her father, who had been highly critical, wrote to the chief, apologizing for mistrusting him and thanking him for his patience and commitment to respectful communications.) 2) “Individuation” — This means seeking to replace my generalized preconception of another person with real information about her or him as a unique individual. One of the infuriating effects of being stereotyped is that who you really are isn't recognized. This basic act of focusing on learning about individuals in an open-minded way conveys respect — the foundation of healthy interactions — and has transformative effects on relationships. The Implicit Bias workshop was more than a one-time event because it fundamentally reframes the issues of prejudice. Once you grasp the concept, you have the power — and responsibility — to make things better in every interaction in which you realize you are employing stereotypes and become more adept at doing so. So what happens next? Both the article and the workshop changed how I experience the issue of race, not just in second-hand accounts in the media, but in daily interactions with citizens, co-workers, strangers, etc. So I will have continual new steps to take and new opportunities to do this work. Race Awareness Week is Nov. 2-6. These events will provide opportunities for each of us to help our community and our country live up to its true values. I welcome your comments. Email me at [email protected] . John Stromberg is mayor of Ashland. By John Stromberg DailyTidings.com By John Stromberg Posted Aug. 25, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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