11 hours ago
Is everybody having fun? How parenthood rewired my idea of a good time
A few years ago, I was invited to a 'bias training' session by a woman I found terrifically boring. Perhaps that was reason enough to go? Maybe she's not boring after all, I thought. Maybe I was the problem.
We started with group exercises. The first required us to write down our first impressions of one another, then read them aloud. Bracing. Very bracing. But also, as these things so often are, bonding. 'Wait, you are a vulnerable human being who wants to be loved? Me too!'
Then came the serious part. We were asked to write down the one thing that instantly turns us off a person. The point of no return. Around the room we went, one revelation after another. Earnest truths about accents, clothing, childhood trauma. Biases traced back to grandparents, migration, religion. Deep, border-crossing, soul-shaking work.
