Most Americans are terrified of admitting it but are unintentionally biased in favor of their own race, gender, and even religion. The problem with this is by not being completely honest with ourselves we are only making the problem worse as we perpetuate this cycle of "I'm not racist, but..." or "I respect transgender people, but...". Why do we do this? It is actually really simple. Our brains are wired in a way that we categorize things without even recognizing it. Example: you recognize the difference between trucks and cars, and although there are many types of trucks and many types of cars and all of these could fit under an umbrella category of vehicles.
In the case of different vehicles being put into the category truck or car, the separate definitions we recognize are harmless. I mean, have you ever heard someone being hurt by either term? When it comes to our fellow homo sapiens, however, categorizations that take place on almost a subconscious level really can hurt people. It is all unintentional, but as a result, it hinders our ability to not only listen to each other but also to view "others" as being equally important to our "self". I believe that this is going to be a quagmire for many of us as we try to move our country towards being more accepting of all people, because until we can truly recognize our unconscious biases we may hold we will never be able to TRULY see all other human beings as being our equals. The "other" will always remain a foreign part of society and culture that we will never understand.
My challenge to you, the beautiful soul who is taking your time to read this: Get to know the "other(s)" you have in your life. It doesn't need to be a big ordeal, just for one week try asking more questions than you answer. If you find yourself in a cafeteria heading towards a table full of people that look like you, then maybe instead you ask to sit at a table full of people who don't look like you.
