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Biases In To Kill A Mockingbird

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Upon getting my result for an implicit association test on racial bias, I was surprised to be told that I had a preference for white people over African-Americans, as I’ve never felt that I’m prejudiced. However, the online study reported that the majority of people who do the simple matching activity have some degree of preference, as the effect of holding subconscious biases formed from society’s influence and associated stereotypes. Further evidence tells us that these biases stop people from acting impartially and fairly, which can have broad effects on others.
Although it’s possible to create a just society if the vast majority bases their actions on moral values and equality, this will never happen because most people act on ingrained …show more content…

In the article “Is Everyone A Little Bit Racist?” by Nicholas Kristof many examples are given of situations in which people of color are treated unfairly compared to white people, such as African-Americans being arrested for possession of marijuana more and patients of color being given pain meds less often for a broken leg than white patients. The article goes on to say that the people acting on biases “probably believe in equality and are unaware that they are discriminating.” Similarly, in To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, the racism towards blacks displayed by the Maycomb community is thought of as normal and established in people beginning at childhood. It’s probable that the greater number of the inhabitants don’t wish to do wrong and consider themselves ethical and respectable. However, Atticus still knows before the case even starts that he will lose, because the jury’s will make their decision based on bias and not moral reasoning. Later, in his closing statement to the jury, Atticus says that the Ewells made their case in court “confident that you gentlemen would go along with them on …show more content…

However, this is impossible when different classes of people aren’t viewed as equal by others. In “Black and Unarmed” it says that “black men accounted for 40 percent of the 60 unarmed deaths, even though they make up just 6 percent of the U.S. population. The Post's analysis shows that black men were seven times more likely than white men to die by police gunfire while unarmed.” Clearly, these killings were disproportionate and unfair, especially as since this quote only cites unarmed victims, there was nothing to separate the black men from the other races. Therefore, these deaths were most likely the result of ingrained biases by the policeman, as it’s safe to assume that most policeman aren’t deliberately being prejudiced against African-Americans. This is further supported by a study that presents subjects pictures of men holding either guns or other objects, and has them accordingly press keys to either shoot or holster their gun. According to “Is Everyone A Little Bit Racist?,” “Ordinary players (often university undergraduates) routinely shoot more quickly at black men than at white men, and are more likely to mistakenly shoot an unarmed black man than an unarmed white man.” The article goes on to say that this is true for players of all races, adding that this is likely a result of the stereotype of young black men being dangerous. Although most

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