Tag: bias

  • Strength of a (Wo) man

    From living life on one’s own terms as a free bird to managing the pressures of a constrained life – every person displays bravery in their own way. Saying one is stronger than the other is a very limited and conventional view colored by societal norms. Afterall every situation requires a different set of skills, values and morals to be upheld. & every person has their unique set of hardships and struggles – they may look same on the surface, but the similarities end there.

    This versus that?

    Hence labeling, bucketing and generalizing are nothing but trivializing the matter minus the depth it deserves. We all do this on a daily basis, knowingly or sub-consciously, attaching gender, color, caste, economic status as a halo effect to the person’s being. Something as trivial as relationship status, marital status, parenthood status also becomes bias for passing judgements and clouding the personality for what they have to offer. Afterall it’s easy to pass shallow judgments but difficult to understand, empathize and appreciate the positives coming out of the negative experience.

  • Plague of ‘Othering’

    The loss of life of a Nepalese student studying in an Indian University has triggered a lot of discussion around casual discrimination. Labeling a North-East Indian ‘Chinki’, a south Indian ‘Madrasi’ or a Nepalese ‘Kancha’ may sound harmless but can have a deeper intrinsic meaning to outcast someone.

    Othering not only leads to bias and discrimination but also doesn’t help society as a whole to unbreak the chain of ancient thinking.

    One globe, one citizen

    Can we not be kind and look beyond a person’s features and accent? How about labeling people as kind, hardworking, honest and knowledgeable instead?