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Forum Change Begins with the Filter 'The foolish reject what they see , not what they think; the wise reject what they think, not what they see." ? Huang Po *W# do not err because truth is difficult to iff. It Is visible at a glance. We err because this is more comfortable . ? Alexander Solzhenitsyn makes up your filter. What tendencies, signals or cues influence what goes through it? Think about the following: ? Cleveland Avenue Homes - Officers shot, youths killed. ? Race Relations ? What is the answer? ? Citizens Review Board - Four black aldermen for, four white aldermen against Mayor breaks Have you ever been in a situation where you observed someone, and because of their behavior, lan guage or attitude you "sized" them up and. GUEST COLUMNIST By NIGEL D. ALSTON made a judgment about them? I think we all have. Sometimes we have been "sized" up, too. Not only do we "size** up people, but incidents and issues as well. I recently attended a cultural diversity work shop. A key part of the training included what is termed the "perception-assumption" model. The perception-assumption model suggests what we see, hear and read ? data ? is rein forced or influenced by certain signals ? cues ? add passes through our filter and frames our assumptions. The filter is represented by our experiences in life; our level of education; the environment we live in; and the concepts, princi ples and ideas that society has reinforced to become the status quo (socialization). Our perceptions of others and the assump tions we make are driven by what we see, read and hear. As we process this data through our filter, we make assumptions that impact our decision-making and affect our behavior toward others. Cues ? certain signals, mannerisms, etc. that serve to reinforce our assumptions ? influ ence our judgment, behavior and cause our biaieafeiiaftoe, " . Our assumptions ? right or wrong ? impact our decision-making and affect our rela tionships with others. The consequences of our assumptions ? when examined ? might change If we change our filter. Left unexamined, we and others will continue to hold stereotypes that miss the mark more often than not Consider for a moment what makes up your filter. Whether you are white, black or Hispanic, you are influenced by cues that reinforce your beliefs. Without questioning your assumptions and examining your filter,, your thoughts and behavior might be inappropriate. Stop what you are doing and take a few minutes to examine your filter. Think about what the tie. ? Welfare - Whose picture do you see? Why? ? Common Vision - How do we benefit? ? East Winston - What do you see? Write down your observations and examine your assumptions. Pay attention to what may be in your filter ? you might reject what you think. A letter to the editor of the Winston-Salem Journal recently questioned a black minister being "called." The tone of the letter, the sugges tion that black ministers stay in the pulpit and maybe he has not been called ? my cues ? - influenced me to believe^ the writer does not understand the black church or black ministers. Maybe after reading Maitin Luther King's letter from the Birmingham jail and examining the motivation for questioning black ministers, the writer's understanding and attitude might change. Do you reject what you see or what you think? Is it comfortable to continue with the same filter or to examine your assumptions? We make assumptions every day. Blacks assume white people are out to get them. Whites assume black people are threats to their security. The media maintains the status quo and presents images that reinforce our biases. Every day we process data through our filter and make assumptions based on what we have experienced, what society says is or is not, our level of education and our environment. Unexamined assumptions can lead to inap propriate decisions that impact us all. Our filters are like our attitudes, a little thing that makes a big difference. Examine your assumptions. Change begins with the filter. Congress Ignores Growth, Social Deficits The national obsession keficit means we can make little or no progress in two other deficits that are at least as impor EtnL * For alongside the federal budget deficit is he growth deficit and the social deficit The growth deficit is the gap between how ast the economy is Towing and how fast i should grow in order 3 create more an bet jr jobs for all our ali ens. als. Part of the reason for the growing social deficit is the effect of a dozen years of deep cuts In programs that can bring opportunities to peo ple. For example, adjusted inflation federal funding for a wide range of programs geared to help low-income people has been cut by almost For years we've ?n in a no-growth cr ow-growth cycle. TO BE EQUAL John E. Jacob if best most experts expect is growth in the 2 percent range for this year and next ? not ough to put enough people back to work. That's why the economic stimulus part of ; Clinton economic package was so important and why it was so devastating when Con ns cut it to shreds. To end the growth deficit, we'll have to vest in the productivity of our people by edu ting reforms, training and apprenticeship pro ams, and targeting disadvantaged youngsters c help in developing their skills. But those things cost money, lots of it It 'ould be money well spent, since over time ?ch investments return far more than their ini ial costs. But Congress seems afraid of anything that dds to the budget deficit and appears equally cared to raise the required revenues through axes. That concern, though, hasn't stopped law makers from changing the Ginton Administra ion's proposals to provide some breaks for spe cial interests, making up for lost revenues by urther spending cuts in areas that have already wen hit by cuts. The result is that we're less able to deal vith the third deficit ? the social deficiL Reducing that yawning gap between afflu iKc and deep poverty is essential to domestic >eace and prosperity. But again, Congress esisted even the overly modest Ginton propos 40 percept since 198 1 . The biggest hits were in housing programs and in training and employment programs. Adjusted for inflation, federal expenditures on low- income housing programs dropped by 60 percent since 1981. In the same period, fed eral spending on job training and employment was slashed by 63 percent Other programs targeted to low-income families suffered similar cuts. Outlays for low income energy assistance, for example, were slashed by 54 percent; low income weatheriza tion programs were cut by 32 percent And key urban programs whose target ben eficiaries are low-income neighborhoods, such as the Community Development Block Grant and the Community Services Block Grant, were slashed by 31 percent and 47 percent, respec tively. So the obsession with the budget deficit has actually worsened the growth and social deficits, by constraining the federal spending that could alleviate both. And that budget deficit obsession stands as major barrier to passage of the Urban League's Marshall Plan for America, which would put the nation on a faster economic growth path while also helping to end the social deficit Important as the budget deficit is, Congress needs to find the political will to tackle the vital growth and social deficits. IT'S OVER, I TELL YOU. I'M BACK 70 GARTH. weu, I hops 50. you CANT AFfVRP 70M&5 AHf MORE AP POINTMENTS,.. \ MIKE'S NOT HERB, ZONK. Ha HAP TO 60OUTT0TUCSA A TO see HIS MOM - INTHE H0SPTTAL,,. HOSPITAL 7 * mATHAP s penep* MOM, THB HOSPITAL TUiS MB )VU HAVEN'T GOT ANY OOVBZAGE. IS THAT RJ6HT* NELL, MRS. D00NES8URY, MteGowvienou OUT OF HERS! THB TESTS J_ HM All COME BACK, AN P WRB/NA-1 SHAPE! l?1 HEY, PAPS! THE MYSWRJOUS IJH-OH ... LAP/CAMS c? / BACK! & Ml KB! I MYGOP... fVSAMAP OF THE CATA COMBS OF ANC/ENT ? PtLOS! \ COOL! I ^ 600P LORD! I MUST 66T TDHBRSIPB MCNCE' cueu, IT MIGHT NOT Be A MP , IPEA... SHBFBU OFF HBR TRACTOR. AGAIN ANP KNOCKEP HER SELF UNQONSCJOUS, THEY HAP TO RUN ALL SORTS OF 75575 ON HBR. / I 9 I i I I UJBIL, AFTER*7,OOQ IN TREATMENT, I&TTBR BB! IF I HAVE ANY COMPLICATIONS, ANY AT ALL, TM GOING TO Ja%%%7 **i met itdr RA! SEP THE TOLPME... PREMIUM ON MB AGAIN ! / SHE FORGOT HtRPURSe, 50I6AVE ITTVHCR, AHPSHB LEFT. / see? no proe l?M. lUJAe JUST WRAPPING THINGS UP. Thus IS THe. VERY DOCUMCXT DESCRIBED & LORP DEPUtS IN H?S ESSAY ON THE LOST AMUL67B OF K/N6PHLAX! z HMM...THB LAST FUGHT T0TUL5A LEFT AN HOUR AGO! BUT THERMS AN OU? STUNT PLANE OUT AT THE AIR \ MIKE, DO YOUKNOtU ifyour MOTHER STILL HAS HEALTH 00MERA6E* | / FRANKLY, 1 P0N7 KNOW HOW MUCH HELP MIKB'LL BE, HE&8EENA LITTLE... UN., DISCONNECTED FROM REALITY LATELY. WHAT COULD YOU HAVE PONE, MIKE? YOU KJDS ARB BARELY GST - TfNGBY YOURSELVES... / TIME FOR YOUR SEDA TIVE, MRS. VOONDSBURY! but she qucm LBFTTHtS ANQEW SCROLL \ P0RY0U... \ M IKS! AMAZIN6. AND YET !7 LOOKS REMARKABLY UKE AN EVICTION NOTKZ. / UJEU,TO THE UNTUWRB? &E,SURB. UH...NO. WITHOUT THISISNT INSURANCE. * A OWPRBAM, MORE UKE tsrv ANIGHT MARE I 7HEPOCTOR5 SAVE SBPA - 00MIN6 UP SOME TIVE* TOAPMINI- FOR WHAT STERXXJR Me. \ FOR f BILL. ASTUNT PLANE f couum you HAVE MTWV I UJANTEPTD BE HERE FOR vou turn you QCTT THE BILL. \ HURSB! ANOTH ER ROUNP OF TESTS! AT AJOM/ ONCef , BETTER / 10 BE SAFE, PEAR. \ VOICES FROM THE COMMUNITY For several years women have fought for equal rights in areas involving men. However, in the business world, it remains that for every dollar earned by a man, a female earns seventy-five cents. City residents were asked whether men and women are equally compensated. Here are their responses: Tonya Shields,18 RJ. Reynolds "I don't think women are equally compensated because men view women as being inferior. It's the - vsgme discrimination as race, religion, or whatever." MSH8M Jae Simpson, 22 Sara Lee "No, bccausc socicty cxpccts the masculinc gen der lo have more ability to perform duties. Men are also viewed as being more dependable. I think it should be equal because women can do as well as men. Roosevelt Williams, 24 Fine's at Hanes Mall "Yes, because of the freedom of speech and equal rights. Some women make more than the average man. As far as ability is concerned, it depends on the individual." Warren Newkirk, 23 YMCA "We should be equally compensated because we're all human. In reality we are not paid the same. I have to admit that if my wife made more than me I would be mad. It would also make me strive harder."
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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July 15, 1993, edition 1
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