3 ms·

Smell is usually a great heuristic. If something has a bad smell, it’s probably problematic even if you can’t logically identify the problem.

• blagie 2y ago
  "Smell" is the heuristic which, in practice, led to hiring discrimination against African Americans in the eighties -- in the period where overt discrimination was no longer kosher, but before implicit bias was widely recognized and people tried to compensate for it. There are hundreds of minute differences in behavior, communication style, dress, body language, etc. between middle-upper class white communities and low-income African communities which had no impact on job performance, but massive impact on "smell." That's a major part of the reason there was such a disconnect between African Americans and white Americans about the level of racism in America. It continues to impact many smaller minority groups, which don't quite fit liberal / census DEI slots, to an extreme level. It also almost entirely cuts across the red/blue line in many communities, leading to increased political segregation and polarization. If you read many texts, they will tell you everyone is racist. Congrats! You've just learned one of the ways how you're a racist.