This is a story of how harmless choices can make a harmful world and arrives at some interesting and not so obvious conclusions…
1. Small individual bias → Large collective bias. When someone says a culture is shapist, they’re not saying the individuals in it are shapist. They’re not attacking you personally.
2. The past haunts the present - Your bedroom floor doesn’t stop being dirty just coz you stopped dropping food all over the carpet. Creating equality is like staying clean: it takes work. And it’s always a work in progress.
3. Demand diversity near you - If small biases created the mess we’re in, small anti-biases might fix it. Look around you. Your friends, your colleagues, that conference you’re attending. If you’re all triangles, you’re missing out on some amazing squares in your life - that’s unfair to everyone. Reach out, beyond your immediate neighbors.