What color do we really see?

The nursing facility is prime opportunity for many people who are trying to do community service, court ordered and self-motivated.  Current govenment protocols require that  the court ordered community service people do their hours without any direct contact with residents. (Maintenance, laundry, groundswork, ect).  The problem that we've had in the past is that some citizens come into the facility saying they want to volunteer.  It is only after completing their specified number of hours that they go to the volunteer coordinator and ask for certification of their hours. They sometimes get very upset when they find out that we can't provide that certification.

This has resulted in a certain process when people ask to come in to visit or volunteer.  Typically if someone wants to visit residents we just let them visit. Sometimes it becomes obvious after a short discussion and observation that someone is there for community service hours and not to really volunteer.  Instead of just letting them visit; we need to send them to the coordinator.

Which brings us to my experience today. We had a mid-twenty year old person come in today to talk with residents.  He was wearing baggy, low-slung clothes, and the predominant color was black. His speech was mumbled and slurred.  He was African American. I came to the snap decision that this probably was a person who needed to see the volunteer coordinator before visiting with the residents.  I sent our visitor into her office; fully expecting not to see him again.

I was wrong. Turns out that this visitor; had recently changed his life. He had found the gospel, within the baptist community. He was so happy with how his life had changed that he was actively searching for various opportunities to share that experience. He thought the nursing home would be a good place to start.

Meanwhile. I'm feeling pretty crappy. I don't really consider myself a biased person. However; faced with a situation I jumped to a rapid conclusion based upon dress and physical appearance.   S. has a friend who had one parent who was Hispanic. He never learned Spanish; never participated in the culture. He mentioned that there are many times when he meets people that they assume he doesn't know English and their initial interactions reflect that belief.

I wonder sometimes how often our unknown biases and prejudices affect our decisions and rationales. We see someone and based on dress, appearance, skin color, and jump to a snap decision. How often do we see what we expect to see even though it's wrong? We aren't consciously biased but how often does it creep in without us knowing.  More importantly; how do we avoid this unconscious thought process?