Tools of Ignorance

As a modern people we always carry tools. Despite the weight they sometimes carry, we are not always aware of them. Often we equip tools automatically without thinking. To have a variety of tools can be very useful when digging around day to day life. The other day I was cycling home and I came across a prime example of a tool being used in a manner which is neither useful nor beneficial for the person using it. I was more shocked than offended, but as I made my way home I caught a pretty clear utterance of “*blah blah* bloody tosser *blah blah*”  luckily I haven’t had many people call me a tosser without even meeting me, so it took me by surprise when it happened. I was completely unaware of any tosser signals I might have been sending out, so I stopped and waited for her to catch up, mostly because I was intrigued to know why I’d been spotted as a tosser at point blank on the street. I wasn’t particularly aggravated, but out of pure curiosity when she reached me I asked “Did you just call me a tosser?” Her first reply gave me the blueprints of this whole scenario, along with many other similar scenarios. She replied “You bloody cyclists think you own the place”. I don’t consider myself an avid cyclist, but obviously this woman can’t read into my personal credentials from one glance, so instead she reads into a repertoire of her past experience. This probably isn't a conscious decision but using tools of ignorance she made a seemingly logical assumption. This particular assumption followed the formula of person on bike=cyclist=tosser. Who knows maybe she’s right, but the point is this method of assumption is thrown around far too much, often causing needles negative reverberations. Once we broke through the layer of ‘cycling prick’ that she’d slathered me in, she was fairly polite and a nice woman I’m sure.

An example of this scenario amplified on a larger scale is racism. Someone sees another person, they don’t know them but they do have preset associations on an aspect of their appearance or their being, so they grasp onto a formula. In doing so, they have dehumanized that individual, who is now a representative of their assumptions or past experience. Obviously this isn't the only factor of racism but it’s certainly a core piece.

To have an understanding of the way people use these tools allows you to become immune to the use of them. It is far too easy to react to a negative assumption with a parallel assumption. For example when a woman calls me a prick in the street, it seems natural for me to label her “silly old hag”, when really she is just a person using the wrong tools. If we are not aware of these tools we can (and often do) enter a never ending cycle of ignorance and judgments  which limits our ability to communicate.  So next time you find yourself in a similar scenario, just consider the tools which are in use by yourself and those around you.

Peace!