You Are Not Alone
There have been articles in the news recently describing people’s rush to premature judgment. One of the most recent was an incident at Smith College in which a Black student, who was eating a meal in a deserted dorm that had been closed for the summer, and who had been told that she shouldn’t be eating in that location, erroneously accused two workers (a janitor and a cafeteria employee) of reporting her. The janitor and cafeteria worker were assumed by administration to have erred, and both of them suffered adverse consequences (for the cafeteria worker, a flareup of her lupus and for the janitor, anxiety attacks that culminated in his quitting his job). Upon investigation, it was found that neither the cafeteria worker nor the janitor had reported her.
Why the Erroneous Leap to Judgment?
While it is understandable that the administration wanted to be sensitive to the experience of this student, a basic skill of anyone in administration is to hear both sides of a story before making a judgment. It seems that in this instance, pressure from Woke elements at the school, groups who focus on social justice, created so much anxiety for administrators that their competence was compromised.
Not Only Administrators Fall into this Trap
One would wish that anyone who has to make a judgment would first learn both sides of the story, but this is often hard because of pressure to assume that one side is right. This may come from external sources, such as a Woke element; but it is perhaps even more frequently the result of an internal pressure: one’s own wish, for whatever reason, that one side be right. Failing to suspend your judgment until you have the necessary facts can lead to all sorts of trouble.
My Complimentary Tool Can Help
Using my complimentary Tool, in Step 3, wish for a new mental pathway dedicated to identifying instances where a judgment is called for and enabling you to pause until you are able to make an informed decision.
GET THE COMPLIMENTARY Tool
