Classic Case of Confirmation Bias

Whenever I hear a story about a racist act, my default emotion is to feel sadness about it.  Then, my next thought is that it probably didn’t happen.  Jussie Smollett is the most famous case and point but there are plenty of others.

There just aren’t that many racists in America.

Many people cry racism when they don’t get what they want.  Playing the race card in that way doesn’t help anyone.  As I blogged before, I think America has a network problem and other problems not a systemic racism problem.  I think what Senator Tim Scott said was right.  When I read Brad Feld’s blog where he said that the word “articulate” is a microagression that is exactly the wrong way to combat the problems.  I use articulate to describe lots of people.  The folks at 1776 Unite seem to have it right.   They are about empowerment, not victimhood.

There are people marching all over the US that are using the cloak of racism to overthrow the government and civil society that we have spent years building.  No question we are imperfect but we are better than anywhere else.

Stock car driver Bubba Watson saw a noose in his garage.  He is the only black driver on the circuit.  Except, he drives for the Richard Petty team. Richard Petty is the King of NASCAR.   He said it was put there and it was a racist act.

Stop and think critically.  In a garage during COVID 19 and in a garage with millions of dollars worth of cars, tools, parts, and at a racetrack where there is security, some racist slipped by all of it to put a noose in his garage?

The entire apparatus of NASCAR, the management, the racing teams, the press, and the fans put on their mourning garments.  The only possibility was that it would have been an inside job.

Except, it was just a rope for a garage door pull.

Mr. Watson exhibited a massive case of confirmation bias.  He saw the world in one way.  His bias was heightened because of recent current events.  What he should do today is apologize.  Tell people he made a mistake and he didn’t see things the way they really were.

Confirmation bias is part of being human.  You have to figure out ways to get out of your bubble and check your confirmation bias.  It can be exceedingly difficult to do.  Here is an example.  When you are shopping for a car you start seeing that exact car everywhere on the street.

A consequence of confirmation bias is groupthink.  I am of the opinion that George Bush’s administration exhibited a lot of groupthink when it came to the decision of deciding whether to invade Iraq or not.  Obama’s administration was full of groupthink.   Businesses can become full of groupthink.  No one is above it or immune.

The key to solving these kinds of problems is empowerment.  Empowering individuals to be free to choose.  Empowering individuals so they don’t have to seek validation from anyone else for their decisions.  It goes without saying, but the policies we have been implementing since 1965 to combat these problems use the framing of warehousing people than empowering people.  That’s why they haven’t worked.