Am I Amy Cooper?

June 6th, 2020

I am white, educated, in my 40s, socially liberal, an Obama advocate, and a graduate of the University of Chicago Booth School of business.

Am I Amy Cooper, the police-phoning, Central Park dog walker?

Based on the above description, she and I are indistinguishable. I’d love to think our similarities stop there, but I’d be lying. By that I mean I am biased. I don’t mean to be, and I take action to counter my biases. But my biases exist. They are unconscious. And it’s not just me, it’s everyone.

“Unconscious bias” refers to those thoughts and feelings that lie outside of our consciousness, and they cause us to behave differently than we would otherwise, particularly when it comes to race and gender. There is vast literature on this topic. There is also vast literature on how to overcome it.

My undergraduate university, Northwestern University, provides a solid list of resources to better understand and address this topic. I particularly like the link to Facebook’s Management Training; it reveals hidden insights relevant to anyone.

But Does Amy Cooper’s behavior go beyond the unconscious? 

In my opinion, yes and no. Amy is a bit of “A Karen” and is also a hypocrite. 

The term “Karen” is a word I’ve recently learned used to describe the entitled white women’s “may-I-speak-to-your-manager” system for getting what she wants. In this case, Amy certainly used the systemic injustices against African American males to address her needs. And yes, Amy is hypocrite. Her actions were not consistent with the person she claimed to be.

But I also believe Amy’s actions were unconscious to a large degree. Why? Because it seemed to me her actions were a conditioned response; and conditioning leads to unconsciousness. Conditioning leads to a way of walking through life without thinking. It’s a poor excuse; but we all fall victim to conditioning in one way or another. Such conditioning underscores why this moment in time is so important; why it’s so important to wake the hell up.

That brings me to today’s featured artwork. I was inspired by Fast Company’s Simple Methods to Fight Unconscious Bias and considered how I can use imagery in my own life to help me stay awake.

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These works of art have become my screen savers. They date back centuries. They are among the many icons of black Madonnas that have appeared throughout history. It is theorized that these icons were intended for inclusivity. Whether or not this is true does not matter to me; what matters is that this iconography gives me pause, makes me think, and brings to light my unconscious. This is not what I grew up seeing in the Greek Orthodox Church.

While I am not Amy Cooper, I am in fact biased. But I am also smart, grateful, open-minded, willing to hear, and wanting to help.

Share your thoughts; I’m awake and listening.