Posted on Nov 20, 2018
What are your thoughts on "Unconscious Bias" and the awareness training that is currently being provided by the military?
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Posted 6 y ago
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Bias exists -- no question. But an unconscious bias is an oxymoron; that is, the terms "unconscious" and "bias" are mutially exclusive... kind of like "jumbo" and "shrimp" or "guest" and "host."
The definition of bias is: "inclination or prejudice against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair." (source: Oxford online dictionary). Both "inclination" and "prejudice" are acts of volition -- that is, they are decisions we make. If it is an unconscious act then it is not intentional and therefore, by definition, it is not bias.
This whole concept is yet another example of PC gone mad. In my honest and humble opinion, this is yet another tactic being used to eviscerate and destroy the will and ability to fight of the American soldier.
If you read Saul Alinski's "Rules for Radicals" and you will see that this is one of the methods employed by Marxists to destroy the west.
The fact that this has made its way into the command structure of the military should give you chills and real cause for concern with regard to the future of America.
Just remember that you can be ordered to salute a turd. It doesn't mean you have to respect it.
My advice: endure the training and keep your thoughts to yourself. Bide your time and then VOTE THE MARXIST PUKES OUT OF OFFICE
The definition of bias is: "inclination or prejudice against one person or group, especially in a way considered to be unfair." (source: Oxford online dictionary). Both "inclination" and "prejudice" are acts of volition -- that is, they are decisions we make. If it is an unconscious act then it is not intentional and therefore, by definition, it is not bias.
This whole concept is yet another example of PC gone mad. In my honest and humble opinion, this is yet another tactic being used to eviscerate and destroy the will and ability to fight of the American soldier.
If you read Saul Alinski's "Rules for Radicals" and you will see that this is one of the methods employed by Marxists to destroy the west.
The fact that this has made its way into the command structure of the military should give you chills and real cause for concern with regard to the future of America.
Just remember that you can be ordered to salute a turd. It doesn't mean you have to respect it.
My advice: endure the training and keep your thoughts to yourself. Bide your time and then VOTE THE MARXIST PUKES OUT OF OFFICE
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LTC Jason Mackay
SSG Robert Perrotto - I was roaring laughing when they hijacked passages from Mein Kampf and exchanged the object of hate with white men or similar to lampoon feminism and other areas of social study and they were applauded. One academic person I talked to about this article said that the journals they cited were not really as prestigious as they were made out to be by the authors.
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Capt Bob Abbott
Capt Bob Abbott - I understand and agree with a lot of what you're saying. And so you know, I don't watch the news, I don't even have cable. My analyst hat stays on most of the time and it bugs the crap out of me. But I digress.
Allow me to explain in a hopefully non-inflammatory way what I'm trying to focus on. You stated that by definition bias requires conscious thought and must be intentional. That it's an oxymoron (military intelligence is still my favorite one). But let's take this example. When most people enter a supermarket, what direction do they turn? Invariably, they turn to the right. This is despite in other countries they drive on the left, rather it's likely due to the majority of people being right-handed. Stores with great marketing will have the small baskets to the right of the entrance when you enter, you're more likely to pick one up, again being right-handed.
In this case, it's not a conscious thought for people to turn right. It's intrinsic in their nature. You can often tell if a tourist in London is American by watching them cross the street. They look right first, while Brits look left. It's an unconscious act, but I would consider that bias. You used the first definition for bias, but using that same dictionary, definition 1.2 is "A systematic distortion of a statistical result due to a factor not allowed for in its derivation". Few people factor in their dominant hand as to what direction they turn in a store. Few factor in their dominant eye when they determine whether to drive to the left or the right of a lane. See what I mean?
It's easy to extrapolate that concept over to other biases. I use implicit bias because I'm old and intel, but unconscious bias is fine. So few people even realize that they have biases that they don't recognize a majority of their actions are automatic and based on the neural pathways developed through their history. By throwing out the concept as pseudo-intellectual malarkey is disingenuous to the reality. People may not believe it, but they'll still probably turn right when entering a store.
Allow me to explain in a hopefully non-inflammatory way what I'm trying to focus on. You stated that by definition bias requires conscious thought and must be intentional. That it's an oxymoron (military intelligence is still my favorite one). But let's take this example. When most people enter a supermarket, what direction do they turn? Invariably, they turn to the right. This is despite in other countries they drive on the left, rather it's likely due to the majority of people being right-handed. Stores with great marketing will have the small baskets to the right of the entrance when you enter, you're more likely to pick one up, again being right-handed.
In this case, it's not a conscious thought for people to turn right. It's intrinsic in their nature. You can often tell if a tourist in London is American by watching them cross the street. They look right first, while Brits look left. It's an unconscious act, but I would consider that bias. You used the first definition for bias, but using that same dictionary, definition 1.2 is "A systematic distortion of a statistical result due to a factor not allowed for in its derivation". Few people factor in their dominant hand as to what direction they turn in a store. Few factor in their dominant eye when they determine whether to drive to the left or the right of a lane. See what I mean?
It's easy to extrapolate that concept over to other biases. I use implicit bias because I'm old and intel, but unconscious bias is fine. So few people even realize that they have biases that they don't recognize a majority of their actions are automatic and based on the neural pathways developed through their history. By throwing out the concept as pseudo-intellectual malarkey is disingenuous to the reality. People may not believe it, but they'll still probably turn right when entering a store.
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A female veteran was honored at the Veterans Day ceremony hosted by a small Southern California city. Someone suggested to the Commander of the local VFW post that she should be invited to join. His response was to direct her to the VFW auxiliary where the spouses of veterans belong. Seriously. I think there are many veterans who would benefit from such training, don't you?
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MSgt (Join to see)
Jack, that is conscious bias not unconscious bias. The whole unconscious bias thing is too 1984-ish for me. Do not punish people for actions they don’t take or thoughts they don’t have. (That is the unconscious part) heck I don’t even care if people have bad thoughts as long as their actions are above board.
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SPC Samantha Stapley
I tried to join my local VFW and was turned down because I was a female. They told me to look into the auxiliary as well. Didn't believe that I could possibly be a veteran.
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MSgt (Join to see)
SPC Samantha Stapley I have been to VFWs that assumed that I was the spouse and not the veteran, however, when I produced my documentation they were very apologetic. They weren’t biased against me or females in general. I just didn’t fit their stereotype of a veteran. Once they realized their mistake they were very sorry about it. In general I don’t participate in the VFW because I am not much of a drinker or a socializer. If you produce documentation and they still deny you email the national headquarters. That is just local guys being assholes (conscious bias).
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SSG Robert Perrotto
SPC Samantha Stapley - I absolutely agree with MSgt Heather D. It is one thing to question if you are a vet, as this is something that is not gender based. Plenty of young male vets get questioned frequently, as not everyone carries a DD214 with them, or have a VA Card. It's when they turn you down, as you claim, Samantha, that crosses the line, and you should absolutely report this to the national HQ. Second, I would have serious issues with my VFW post if such a thing occurred, and would absolutely question the leadership during the monthly meetings.
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SSG(P) (Join to see)
I believe it is currently being used to validate concepts of systemic bias or racism in our country.
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