All Hell’s Broke Loose
Writer’s Bias and the destruction of free-thinking
Follow me through my thought process as I explore the lost art of recognizing writers’ bias. I share my biases by using italics throughout this article.
Writers Bias 101
In the age of total subjectivity, it is difficult to recognize your own bias. I am extremely disappointed with the media, and I feel like yellow journalism has returned.
However, writers’ biases seep into stories and overshadow beautiful work by crafting an article in such a way that the reader no longer is free to make their own decision. . The first rule of journalism is to be objective, and now news organizations actually write stories about themselves writing stories. That is not news.
Political scuffles increased to a point where I feel my first amendment right is in danger. I found it extremely difficult to decipher real news and propaganda. I lived as a US Diplomat, and my experience taught me a lot about how we receive our news. One news organization would completely invalidate another while clearly taking a side on the political spectrum. That is not news; that is editorials.
George Floyd’s death tragically invited a wave of opinionated people. I felt torn about how my freedom of expression was undermined by groupthink. Cancel culture, political correctness, and COVID concerns challenged me to get into a fight I did not even believe in.
I am absolutely a supporter of Black Lives Matter, but I am not a supporter of looting and violent rioting by either police or the protesters. I cannot argue this matter in any constructive way without commentators throwing large logical fallacies my way and personal attacks. Is this the land of the free? I am lost. Conflict makes me uneasy by stirring up past trauma, leaving me unable to be clear-headed.
Even when I am teaching, I need to be mindful of my biases. Oh, but I think I am right! First of all, when I teach students to write at my high school, I must be conscientious not to do too much for them. I am a flawed codependent and an at-risk kid who feels the need to save everyone.
During assessments, each student's writing skills vary, and it is my mission to meet them where they are at. On average, the students I mentor show an increase in their grades by two letter grades. I said grades twice in that sentence, and now I feel like a terrible writer.
But, every student that I have helped is required to fill out a survey about my performance. Can you say conflict of interest? Thus far, I have received 100 percent positive feedback from every student and teacher in the past three years. Oops, I think I let my bias show. And I am well-liked amongst the student body. I am a people pleaser who needs approval at all times.
Therefore every day, I must allow the student to fail if they must because I am not helping them if I do the work. No one ever fails. While I am a work in progress, I diligently work with students to be independent writers. The only approach I have not changed is that I adamantly encourage students to believe in themselves because new writers need their own anxiety to be decreased before they can learn. Let me believe what I want.
How to remove bias:
1. Be cognitive of generalizations. Generalizations are not real. One cannot encapsulate an idea based on all or nothing thinking. Furthermore, generalizations are dangerous. The average reader's attention has weakened through new forms of presenting information such as Twitter and Tumbler or Reddit. This is my opinion.
2. Use supporting evidence other than your own beliefs. As an academic writer, I learned that Wikipedia does not hold up against an article on Google Scholar. Your resources must be strong and cited in your work. I am an academic snob.
3. Write a list of all your biases before writing a paper. How dare you say I have biases? You may be amazed at how many biases and tangents of biases you have towards a certain subject. A writer with integrity will try to exhume their own opinions from what is written to maintain objectivity and allow the reader to make the choice. Being judgemental.
4. Check new trends in style and formatting. In the last year, “they” have replaced one or the always difficult rewording of “he” and “she.” Did I say he before she? That is gender bias. Staying current on new grammatical trends will help you avoid conflict after your story is posted. I despise the use of the word “they.” It makes me feel like literary works, and scientific studies are losing quality by submitting to new rules agreed upon by a small group of editors.
The Observer Effect
The Observer Effect is a well-known theory of Quantum mechanics wherein scientists proved that observing an experiment changes the outcome. If there is no observer, scientists discovered that particles would mimic waves and then “meet again outside of the barrier,” which physicists call interference.
However, if an observer is present, the experiment changes in a remarkable fashion. The outcome of the experiment changes as the particles react to being observed.
In other words, when under observation, electrons are being “forced” to behave like particles and not like waves. Thus the mere act of observation affects the experimental findings (Quantum Theory Demonstrated: Observation Affects Reality, 1998).
The Observer effect can carry over to writing. This proves that no writer can ever be truly objective. But that does not mean that an effort can be made to stay neutral while writing about explosive subjects. What is my point?
I write about these biases because from my perspective, which is bias, objectivity has morphed into sensationalism, which can cause dangerous implications to the public and within interpersonal relationships. I feel a pressing need to stay silent about what I believe in due to the mob mentality that overruns our personal freedoms.
“Know thyself” by Socrates
The ancient philosopher Socrates thought dutifully about the difficulty of writing without bias. His companion, Plato, believed that language was ”too much bound up with sensible imagery to be adequate for true philosophy” (Avnon, 1995). Socrates contributed to this notion by distinguishing that the objective philosopher must take inventory of belief systems in his famous quote.
Centuries later, the theories of Plato and Socrates prove to be timeless. In fact, they are more important now than ever. As a writer, it is advisable to know who you are and the bias’s you carry. I despise writers who advise others how to write, so I feel like a hypocrite right now.
A critical thinker that reads an article is trained to recognize bias. Critical thinking is a lost art as pathos dominates communication. Beat them at their game. Review your feelings and experiences about the subject you write- all of them. And the good news is when you write your biases on a piece of paper, that begins the process of separating yourself. But it is so hard! Plus, there will probably be a plethora of new material found in those biases for you to write about in the future.
So I leave you now with a list of my biases as an example of how biases differ depending on the person.
- I do not like Monday Night Football.
- I favor the dab.
- Seagulls at the beach make me cringe.
- Everything is better with store-bought vanilla icing.
- The DNC cheats.
- Donald Trump is a narcissist.
- Never say yes to something you do not want to do again.
- One cannot think their way out of a problem if the problem is centered in the mind.
- I do not like Yoga with Goats.
- Medium is overrun with articles telling us how to write like this one.
Okay, thank you, good night!
Reference List
Avnon, D. (n.d.). “Know Thyself”: Socratic Companionship and Platonic Community — DAN AVNON, 1995. Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0090591795023002006?journalCode=ptxa
Quantum Theory Demonstrated: Observation Affects Reality. (1998, February 27). Retrieved November 01, 2020, from https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1998/02/980227055013.htm
