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Implicit Bias Research Paper

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No matter who you are or what part of the world you are from implicit bias are a constant issue in society. These tendencies typically stem from structural injustice, implicit bias, and personal discretion. Structural injustice is when a category of people are associated with an insufficient status when comparing to other groups of people engaging in the same actions. Implicit bias are stances and stereotypes that affect our comprehension, actions and decisions held by our unconscious manner. These bias are involuntarily and are done without individuals awareness or intentional control. Everyone is exposed to these biases at a young age through the media, parents, and teachers. Each individual holds possession of implicit bias whether they …show more content…

In the article, “Shooting of Philando Castile”, on Wikapedia.org, Officer Jeronimo Yanez comes face to face with his own implicit bias when pulling over African American, Philando Castile and his passenger when believed to be matching the description of a local robbery occurring moments before. Officer Jeronimo Yanez made a personal discretion on the African American when suspecting he was reaching for a gun when asked to pull out his license and registration. Officer Jeronimo was alerted “Castile told the officer he was licensed to carry a weapon and had one in his pants pocket” (“Shooting of Philando Castile”). Officer Jeronimo Yanez takes it upon himself to follow through and shoot Philando when fearing he was reaching to pull out a gun, ultimately resulting in the fatal injury of Philando Castile. Suddenly, implicit bias clouded Officer Yanez discretion leading him to make a split decision. In this case, and in an overall aspect in the criminal justice system and it is an individual’s moral responsibility to take control and either except the bias or take an alternative route and do something about it rather than ignore …show more content…

Specifically African Americans have the negative connotation of being violent criminals. This is one of the many implicit bias humans face. In Brandon Stahls’ article, he goes on to further this viewpoint focusing on racial subjecting when his contributor reports, “Nobody in the world gets stopped that many times,” Castile’s mother, Valerie Castile, said in an interview. “I know people that live their whole life without ever having a ticket. So you accumulate that many tickets, that is obvious something is going on” (Stahl). If Officer Yanez was educated when handling his personal implicit bias, Philando Castile may still be with us today. There comes a certain point in life when an individuals’ education should be upheld and they are accountable for controlling their personal discretion and altering their overall implicit bias. Responsibility falls upon the individual who may be blameworthy for failing to take responsibility for implicit bias once they are aware that they are likely to be influenced by them. When a situation occurs that an individual needs to focus solely on his or her beliefs and to control their actions when these things occur. Even if someone says they are impartial, it is a part of human nature that we rely on implicit bias to deem a certain group or person responsible for a wrong act. Even though implicit bias are subconscious thoughts every person is responsible for ones own

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