Some laud Merrick Garland's response about implicit bias I found his answer problematic. He said that "implicit bias just means every human being has biases...Everybody has stereotypes....Implicit biases are the ones we don't recognize. That doesn't make you a racist." 1/
But what if the stereotypes we hold about Black people are racist and we act accordingly? Implicit assumptions about Black people's behavior and capacities shape our interactions and decision making, with tangible consequences for how we live in this country. 2/
The fact that we aren't conscious of these assumptions doesn't absolve us of the responsibility to address them. Nor does it let us off the hook. White Americans have been indelibly shaped by racism. In some ways, all of us have. 3/
Admitting that racism isn't simply a matter of intention (or the conscious will) would help us uproot it. Hiding behind implicit bias only allows some to declare, "I am not a racist. I didn't know I was doing it." Sounds like the words of an adolescent to me
I should say that the last sentence about "adolescents" referred to Senator Kennedy, not Merrick Garland. Just say the sentence out loud with an exaggerated Louisiana drawl
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