Bias

Eleanor was squashed into me, or on me, all night last night. Cute, but a bit much. Ah, well, cats.

Finished up a bit late this evening, walking out to my car, dark and wet. A group of three youngish men between me and the car. Chatting, smoking, all black, so I recalled the advice I'd been given decades ago. That a bunch of white guys standing on a corner are trouble, but black guys are just socializing. In my years around Wayne State, I found this to be reliable as a thumb rule. Same tonight.

I feel a bit bad that worry even crossed my mind, but this is Salt Lake, not Detroit, and I wasn't certain the rule applied here. I said "good evening gentlemen." They responded in kind, as I 90% expected. But I have these old, disused street-smarts, and they told me to be polite, not afraid, but wary, nevertheless.

Worldwide groundswell of Us vs Them mentality, fears being stoked, distractions from real problems. It is a kind of prejudice to extend extra gentleness to anyone not white, male, middle class, middle aged, but I do it anyway. When I was young, I genuinely thought sexism, as well as cultural bigotry, was on it's way out, as an irrational and socially damaging bad habit. Dismaying to watch such a resurgence, and so potent, so pervasive. The world turns, and turns back, and will turn again. We only tame ourselves slowly, with the odd bite and growl and vicious interludes.

The front desk in the OR got decorated today. I was amazed, this has never happened before. We've done ad hoc snowflakes from cast-off packaging, but never had the sort of public decorations that pre-op, the waiting room, even PACU get every year. This change cheers me remarkably. C did a very nice job. He used to do the Governor's Mansion, until the Prop 8 Thing, and he told them if they wanted decoration, they'd have to get straight people to do it from then on. He did a beautiful job, btw. A matter of gay pride for him, so he says. I wouldn't have made the joke, but since he does, I'll pass it on.