A Test for Bigotry
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The following is a response to questions about his books. He says that after teaching about racism for years he wanted to write a book on the subject to help other educators address the issue of race. "There is a survey in the appendix of my book titled 'How Comfortable Am I?' under 'Self-Assessment Exercises' that offers readers an opportunity to assess their comfort levels in a variety of possible situations that cover a range of issues, including race, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, disability, religion, and so forth. The results can direct readers to areas with further exploration for personal growth. I hope this helps."
The directions state: "Please take some time to rate (indicate by a circle) the following statements on a scale of 1-4, with 1 being not comfortable at all to 4 being completely comfortable.
(1) Not Comfortable at all - (2) Uneasy - (3) Fairly Comfortable - (4) Completely Comfortable."
I haven't read the books, but I came across the referenced survey on line during my research on bigotry for my website, "Differences." In the process of asking myself "How comfortable would I be?" in the given situations, I found myself unable to reach any kind of conclusion without a lot more background. To say it another way, bigotry (bias, discrimination, favoritism, intolerance, leaning, narrow-mindedness, one-sidedness, parochialism, partiality, partisanship, predilection, prejudice, provincialism, unfairness) is such a complicated issue that it is not likely to be meaningfully gauged by a series of simple questions that lack a contextual background.
In what follows, I have rendered Dr. Amico's questions in boldface type, and my comments regarding the circumstances that form the setting for the situation proposed, in terms of which it can be more fully understood and assessed in terms of how comfortable one might be. My comments will no doubt provide some indication of my own biases and prejudices. I'm OK with that.
1. You visit your grandparent at an assisted-living community (4) - I'm not sure what is being suggested here. Assisted-living communities are full of elderly people, whom some younger folks find "creepy." For example, there is an uncomfortable scene in Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey in which obviously unpleasant Granny Preston, (played by Alex Winter who also plays Bill), tries to give him a kiss, which he strenuously tries to avoid, that plays on this fear. One would think, however, that if somebody voluntarily visits Old Granny (or whomever), this would not be a problem. Maybe the question here is, "Are you uncomfortable around old people?" and maybe, "if so, why?"
2. A friend invites you to go to a gay bar (3) - My understanding of the term "gay bar" is that it is like a "Jewish bar" or a "little people bar," where people go to meet and associate with others like themselves, or where people not like them go to cause trouble. Since I am neither gay nor an (intentional) troublemaker, I would not be so much uneasy as curious concerning why any "friend" of mine would think I would be interested in going there.
3. You go to the gay bar and a person of the same sex asks you to dance (4) - If I went to a gay bar, I would expect that the other people there would assume that I was gay and looking for romance. Nevertheless, I can't imagine the situation arising.
4. A homeless man approaches you and asks for change (2-3) - I feel sad for homeless people, and "sad" is probably akin to "uneasy." Having said that, I have no way of knowing if the individual is homeless or not, so the real issue here is whether I am uneasy around panhandlers, which I am. I consider that panhandling is a consequence of not being motivated to do something useful to earn a living, so my reaction to panhandling is basically "annoyed." I reject the argument that they are necessarily only temporarily "down on their luck" and are at least better than thieves and burglars, as if that was the only alternative. I don't give them any money, either.
5. Your new roommate is a Palestinian Muslim (2-4) - I don't know how Palestinian Muslims differ from the regular kind, and all the professed Muslims I know are my kind of people. When I hear the word "Palestinians," I think of people who live in Palestine who, for the last 70 years, have been committing terrorist acts against Israeli Jews. If he's some kind of radical, I would get another roommate on that basis alone, regardless of his religion.
6. A fellow resident assistant is paraplegic (4) - I would probably be her friend. Paraplegics need more friends than the rest of us, if only to help them get around.
7. A group of young Black men are walking toward you on the street (2-4) - I think the author wants me to interpret what "young Black men" means here. If they look, act and talk like me or the people I see around me, except younger and blacker, I don't have a problem with them. On the other hand, if they obviously despise the traditions of my society regarding how to wear their clothing or how to act or talk in public, I assume they may despise our laws, too. I'd keep an eye on them, and watch my back.
8. Your history instructor speaks with a pronounced Vietnamese accent (4) - If she's apparently Vietnamese, it wouldn't bother me. If she isn't, I'd probably wonder why.
9. Your assigned lab partner is a Fundamentalist Christian (2-4) - I'm OK with Fundamentalist Christians who are OK with the fact that I'm Roman Catholic who gets along just fine with Muslims and Jews. Nonetheless, most of the Fundamentalist Christians I know who identify themselves as such do it in an "in your face" way that gives Fundamentalist Christianity a bad name. If she's obnoxious enough, I will probably ask for another lab partner, and maybe encourage her to attend another school - in another state - far away - overseas!
10. Your new roommate is Jewish (4) - Since he's my roommate, I'm likely to find out he's Jewish eventually, whether he advertises the fact or not. I don't have a problem with him if he doesn't have one with me. On my first trip to Vietnam, aboard a Navy ship, I had a cabin mate who was a Jewish surgeon. He went by the nickname "G.I. Jew." I liked him!
11. Your sister invites her new boyfriend home to dinner. He is a female-to-male transsexual (4) - I would want to know what "boyfriend" means here, but I don't think it has anything to do with me either way, especially since I don't have a sister. I do have a friend to who is a male-to-female transsexual, and she is a very attractive woman. I don't have any romantic interest in her, though. Maybe there's some bias there; I don't know.
12. You arrive at church to discover your new pastor is a woman (1) - Since I am a member of a church that doesn't have female clergy, I would wonder what the two of us are doing in the same church. I personally know some ordained clergywomen of other faiths, and they seem to me to be a couple cuts above the average male clergy with whom I am familiar, especially the ones who don't have wives to tell them when they're behaving like horses' asses. Even so, my impression from what I read about the activities of female clergy overall is that, so far, they are an excellent argument for why my church doesn't have any.
13. Your dentist is HIV positive (2-3) - I would probably get another dentist. Being a dentist and HIV positive is an indication of basic lack of professionalism and poor personal hygiene.
14. Your woman studies instructor is a Muslim woman who wears a headscarf and full length robe (4) - I would probably be one of her better students. All the Muslim women I know are beautiful, intelligent, well educated, and fascinating. I would hope she's single and is attracted to elderly men.
15. The young man sitting next to you on the airplane is Arab (4) - How would I know that he's an Arab, since the only Arabs I know look like regular people? I guess he'd tell me, in which case, we would probably already be friends.
16. Your new suitemate is Mexican (4) - I had a suitemate for three years who is now a member of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, a Knight Commander of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (KCMG), and was twice the Prime Minister of Belize, formerly British Honduras. "Mexican" wouldn't bother me at all.
17. Your assigned partner for a project in Statistics has a learning disability (2-4) - If her learning disability keeps her from doing the work, I might consider it a mitzvah to help her out, as I did with two of my partners in undergraduate physics lab. If it keeps me from doing mine, I would probably ask for another partner who could pull her own weight.
18. Your new roommate is gay (3-4) - It may work out OK if he keeps it to himself or she's a woman.
19. The woman sitting next to you in a plane weighs 250 pounds (3-4) - As long as she stays in her seat, doesn't fart much and bathes as necessary, I don't have a problem with her. Otherwise, I think she should stay home.
20. Your new supervisor is Iranian (4) - I get along just fine with Iranians. Despite that, and as far as I know, nothing about being an Iranian keeps one from being almost as an obnoxious ass as some Americans I know.
21. Your math tutor is a 62 year old woman (4) - Sounds like my kind of math tutor!
22. Your two next door neighbors in your hall are lesbian/gay (4) - You mean like Ellen Degeneres and Portia de Rossi? Great!
23. Your mother "comes out" to you (2) - Any adult who suddenly found out that his mother was bisexual, gay, transgender, a drug abuser, a fugitive from justice, or other unexpected attribute would probably be surprised. I do not consider such a surprise devoid of emotional reaction. If she's my mom, I should have been able to grow up with that knowledge.
24. Your Lakota roommate practices traditional forms of Native American spirituality (3-4) - I have no idea what "traditional forms of Native American spirituality" means. It might be interesting to find out, and would be necessary intelligently to answer the question. Maybe he could help me do that.
25. Your brother's new girlfriend is a single mother on welfare (4) - Hypothetically, I would try to be supportive. Knowing my brother, however, I don't think the situation would be likely to arise.
26. Your family buys a home in a predominantly Black neighborhood (2) - I would probably not feel comfortable in a neighborhood the sole distinguishing characteristic of which is "predominantly black," since neither I nor any member of my family is "predominantly black."
27. A child in the class in which you are student teaching is HIV positive (2-4) - My reaction would be the same as if I found out that the child had leukemia, sickle cell anemia, shingles or hypospadias, among other private medical conditions. My reaction would be based on why I was made privy to information, which is none of my business in the first place, and what whoever did that apparently expected me to do about it.
28. You discover that the cute young man/woman that you are attracted to is actually a woman/man (2-3) - I would probably be embarrassed and a little angry. In our society, gender identification is an expected part of social interaction. Therefore, the situation would arise only if the individual involved had made a sustained effort to represent himself or herself as something he or she is not. I consider that antisocial and offensively dishonest!
29. Your sister becomes a Buddhist (3-4) - I don't know what "becomes a Buddhist" means. Does she study Buddhist philosophy? Reject violence? Hang around with other Buddhists? It has nothing to do with me. If she tries to recruit or proselytize me, I would consider it an attempt arrogantly to change my beliefs and avoid her on that basis.
30. You discover your teenage brother kissing a male friend (3) - Gay people in the United States have made it abundantly clear that they are chronically unhappy! They feel marginalized, discriminated against and picked on. For this reason, public displays of affection between gay men are probably not a good idea. I think my teenage brother ought to be made to understand that.
31. Your black roommate gets a full-tuition minority scholarship (4) - Good for him! If he's my roommate, I'm probably already familiar with what "being black" or "minority" is all about. I can't see that "a full-tuition minority scholarship" would have any particular impact, one way or the other.
32. The two other students in your Accounting project group are animal rights activists (2-4) - I think the key word here is "activists," rather than "proponents" or "enthusiasts," which is none of my concern, and about which the subject is not likely to come up, especially in an accounting class! If they are "militants," "zealots," "protesters," "radicals" or "extremists," they are probably obnoxious as well and I'd avoid them because of that.
33. Your new roommate has been in prison (2-4) - I have a friend who has been in prison, and she's OK, as far as I'm concerned. We all make mistakes. If he's a "Martha Stewart type," who has paid his debt, learned his lesson and moved on, like my friend, his background is interesting, but not particularly threatening. All the same, if being a convict or criminal is part, especially the main part, of his identity or self worth, I'll get a different roommate.
34. The AG president in your area/hall is putting herself through school by exotic dancing (4) - If she's good at it and isn't breaking any laws, I don't see a problem. I could probably be persuaded to be more than nominally supportive. It might be helpful to help her educational efforts by hiring her for parties and such, purely as an act if Christian charity if nothing else.
35. A Thai immigrant student invites you to dinner with her family (3) - I would probably politely refuse because I don't well tolerate Thai food, not because I don't like Thais.
36. One of your group presentation members has a speech impediment (3-4) - One has to wonder why somebody with a speech impediment is a member of a "group presentation." If his disability didn't impact his responsibility to the group, I wouldn't have a problem. On the other hand, if it did impact his contribution, I would probably quit the group. I might try to interest him in an activity more suited to the talents and abilities he does have. There isn't anything I, or the group, can do to resolve his problem, and I consider enabling someone who's not pulling his weight out of some kind of misplaced charity or pity to be demeaning, patronizing, insulting and basically dishonest.
37. A Native American student invites you to attend a pow-wow with him (3-4) - I would have to know what was involved, why I was being invited, and whether I would be welcomed by the other attendees. I wouldn't want to go if I was invited as a joke or over the objection of the others there.
38. Your Graduate Hall Director is visually impaired (4) - "Visually impaired" is one of those watered-down politically correct terms that imply that there is something wrong with somebody because he or she is different from the norm, which I find insulting. If this person is a graduate hall director, he or she is probably competent enough to do the job. In that case, it doesn't have anything to do with me.
39. Your residence hall floor is doing community service at a homeless shelter (2-4) - I notice that the word "voluntary" is missing here. If the "community service" is involuntary, I would have to know why. If it is part of a sentence for criminal behavior, my feelings would depend on whether I had been a participant or had been considered guilty by association. My limited experience with organized service for the needy is that it tends to become patronizing. For this reason, I prefer my service to the community to be invisible and anonymous.
40. One of your residents gets called to active military duty in the Middle East (4) - I salute her for her patriotism and wish her well. I would probably pray for her safety periodically. I don't see how it affects me in any case.
41. You are asked to prepare a presentation on diversity for your community. (2-4) - There are so many variables here, the situation is impossible to evaluate. Asked by whom? What kind of presentation? To whom? For what purpose? What does "diversity" mean here? What "community" is involved? I generally don't mind teaching (some of my friends say "preaching"), but if I am asked to be the presenter, I would have to know more about the request and intended audience to form an opinion.
Enjoy!