Admitting My Biases

The news drama -- well, drama lite, I suppose -- about "cosmopolitan bias" got me thinking again about that trip to Ohiopyle last month.

(And I'll put it out here: I detest the current administration. I'm not defending the use of the phrase or the tactic.)

I was on my way to a Venture Outdoors trip, and passed a sign on a realtor's office about buying a second home in that region. 

The Laurel Highlands/Ohiopyle region is gorgeous. Honestly, having a home in the middle of that gorgeousness wouldn't be hard on the eyes.

But the thought that crossed my head?

"Yeah, but then I'd have to live here, and UGH."

The more I drove, the angrier I got. I kept thinking about how it's such a beautiful area, and it's currently so well protected, and OMG the people who live there surely can't appreciate it because OMG they voted for that idiot who wants to see the entire country go to a polluted wasteland again.

Well, there's my cosmopolitan bias for you.

You know something? I'll own it. 

In certain areas of this state, I give some serious side eye and distrust to those who aren't from the metropolitan areas. It's not that I think they don't know any better, and I'm not saying that everyone is provincially minded. But I have a hard time grasping how you can live in a natural, gorgeous area ... and want to do absolutely nothing to protect it. 

Which then eventually leads to me just getting grumpier and grumpier, knowing how those areas tend to vote, and then vowing and declaring that I may go there to hike and sunbathe, but only in small amounts, and I certainly would never live there. 

I think it's the years of living in northern New York, coupled with the intense bullying in middle school, junior high school, and high school, that built this bias. When you're made to feel like it's a horrible outcast to be smart and want more, then you start harboring some serious distrust and downward looking at those who come from that background who treat you that way. Which eventually colors into how you interact with others from similar backgrounds. 

AKA: How bias forms. 

And really? I should know better. I should do better. 

I can do better.