THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, May 1, 1995 TAG: 9504280006
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A6 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
SOURCE: Patrick K. Lackey
LENGTH: Short : 37 lines
From time to time, we learn something.
The other day as I was getting ready to go to work, my wife looked down at our carpet and said, ``Help me look; it dropped from my ear.''
Having spent the better part of my adult life looking for my wife's contacts, I commenced to look for one of those.
After about two seconds, she found the dropped earring. Only then did it sink into my brain that she'd said ``from my ear,'' rather than ``from my eye.''
I had heard what I expected to hear - not what she said.
A few minutes later, driving to work, I saw two white guys standing on one corner, and two black guys standing on another.
It hit me:
If I thought white guys were lazy, I'd see the two white guys just standing there doing nothing and I'd think, ``Yep, that's how they are.'' I'd figure the black guys were waiting to do something worth doing.
Or if I thought black guys were lazy, I'd see the two black guys just standing there doing nothing and I'd think, ``Yep, that's how they are.'' I'd figure the white guys were waiting to do something worth doing.
I'd see what I expected to see, even as I heard ``eye'' because that's what I expected to hear.
Thus prejudice reinforces itself. Whatever we think people are, they become - in our minds. by CNB