Is it my preference or am I judging?
I'm certain I am amongst many, who at one point in their lives failed to articulate the difference between preference and judgement.
For some reason we like to think that what we prefer has nothing to do with bias or judgement, when it in fact, preference has everything to do with bias and judgement.
As usual, what I am saying is best illustrated with definitions. So for the purpose of understanding, preference is defined as a greater desire or liking of one alternative over another. And according to Google, bias is defined as "prejudice in favor of, or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair."
Now, with consideration to these definitions, I ask: Are you judging or is it your preference?
Sadly, most of us do not realize that we are definitely judging based on preference.
It's unfortunate that we live in a society where we feel the need to categorize everything. We walk around putting one another in groups, low class, middle class, high society, rich, celebrity, hood, ghetto, etc.
And with all of these categories come judgements and preference.
From preference comes bias and judgement, and in most cases, if not all, bias is unwarranted...
Consider how many people we look at and judge everyday based on our individual preferences? Now imagine how it feels to be on the receiving end of that bias/judgment everyday...
I ask you to also consider how it would feel to know what bias, preferences and judgements are put on you. And if you are black in America, you know exactly how that feels, and I can guarantee you'd agree with me that it doesn't feel good at all.
So knowing this now, will you change your perspective, now that you are aware that your preferences yield bias and judgement?
