Blog Post #4

I read the article, "What? Me Biased?". This article was about how our subconscious mind perceives color, age, and being American. Although, the subjects were mostly pro obama, they perceived him as less American than other white candidates when focusing on his color. Scientists believe we are programmed to perceive others who are different as a threat. This sounds like a natural process. We naturally tend to trust others who are similar to us in action, and appearances. Although we subconsciously view others differently, we are smart enough to know that our actions cannot reflect that view. This is relevant because we are living in a world that is becoming smaller and our cultures are mixing together quickly. Although we realize our differences, we must accept those differences and overcome them. This is interesting because I know now that Barack Obama was considered less American; however, he was still elected President.

I also learned that this phenomenon only occurs when being asked specifically on one aspect, such as color, or age. Those people who focus on more important aspects of a person won't have these biases displayed. This affects me because I can overcome my natural instinct to shy away from those who are different from me by focusing on the more important characteristics of people.

I was surprised that people believed that Barack Obama was less American than Hillary Clinton or John McCain. He was from Chicago and running for President. The fact that he was a Senator and the qualifications for the presidency should have convinced people that he was truly American.

I agree that the brain probably sends a message of warning when perceiving that someone is different. In our history, different tribes and countries have fought with eachother. We had to be able to recognize who was dangerous by their appearance. I disagree with the research saying that people believe that Barack Obama is less American based on his skin color. I think you could ask anyone to look at a black sheet of paper and a white piece of paper and get the same result because we are asking them to identify where these colors originate. Of course, Africa is a black country and that is where Barack Obama's color originated, not his ideals of Americanism.