Seek information in varied places
RE: DRIFTER CHARGED IN STABBING DEATH OF CHAMP GOLFER IN IOWA, SEPT. 18
The article, attributed to The Associated Press, describes the tragic murder of an international student who was the reigning “Big 12” university golf champion in Iowa.
Shortly thereafter, police arrested a “homeless” man and charged him with first degree murder. The article goes on to say this was the second fatal stabbing of a female student in Iowa in recent months, and then recounts the case of Mollie Tibbetts, a university student who vanished while jogging near Brooklyn, Iowa. The writers point out the male charged with that murder was an “immigrant from Mexico.” Since then, there been controversy about his actual immigration status.
Both cases present excellent examples of social profiling. This is a problem which arises in mainstream media, and I suspect, just as often over morning coffee at Tim Hortons. I am not sure whether the perpetrators even realize they are doing it. While I am not disputing the facts as reported, I am concerned identifying a suspect “en passant” by racial or ethnic background; social class; mental health; or citizenship status contributes to the stereotyping of groups of people. While both examples are from the U.S., we, as Canadians, should not feel smug. We practise our own version of ethnocentricity and have our own homegrown white supremacists, alt-right practitioners, “anti-fa” militants and religiously and racially-intolerant trolls.
There is abundant evidence undocumented immigrants/refugees are much less likely to commit serious crimes than fellow citizens; that the mentally ill are no more likely to become violent than the rest of the so-called “normal” population; that homelessness, per se, does not increase the murder rate; and that minority religious or ethno-cultural groups are no more likely than caucasians to break the law.
Unfortunately, our critical appraisal skills appear to be failing and common sense isn’t as common as it should be. On occasion, we are all guilty of selective hearing loss and are much more inclined to repeat ideas which tend to support our own point of view. This is known as “confirmation bias.” If much of what we think we know comes from selective sources such as Fox and Friends or Breitbart, we will tend to see the world in a particular light, while, if much of our information comes from MSNBC or CNN, the world will seem a very different place.
Not necessarily better, just different. Prudent information consumers would do best to graze the breadth of the pasture, sampling opinion widely. Get to know your neighbours and talk to them. You might be surprised how much you have in common.
Desmond Colohan
St. Catharines