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This high school grad's Obama joke revealed something powerful about unconscious bias.

A high school valedictorian played a joke on his classmates that revealed a larger truth about the implicit biases we can all experience.

Like most valedictorians, Ben Bowling said he wanted to share something inspiring with his classmates. So he offered up the following quote, which he attributed to Donald Trump: "Don't just get involved. Fight for your seat at the table. Better yet, fight for a seat at the head of the table."

The crowd of students, family, and friends reportedly erupted into applause.


Then Bowling revealed a twist about the quote: "Just kidding. That was Barack Obama."

It was a funny moment, but the audience response was telling.

Bowling says he was just making a harmless joke. However, the loud applause he initially received became much more muted when he correctly attributed it to Obama.

"I just thought it was a really good quote," he said. "Most people wouldn't like it if I used it, so I thought I'd use Donald Trump's name."

To some people that might seem like a stinging rebuke to political bias from conservatives. But the truth is, there are plenty of examples of people across the political spectrum making the same mistake.

These moments of bias are not limited to one group or one political party.

For instance, in May, several progressive political influencers on Twitter posted an image of a child being detained by border officials and placed the blame squarely on Trump. But the photo had been taken in 2014, when Obama was president.

Some people deleted the tweet while others doubled down saying they were still right even if they were technically wrong. Unfortunately, that enabled partisans on the other side, including Trump himself, to deflect from the real issue and instead turn it into a "gotcha" moment.

It was awkward, but the main takeaway of these kinds of situations is that things are often complex. And when we let our partisan instincts take over, we can lose sight of the actual issue.

Unconscious bias is a real thing, and it can affect all of us.

It affects how people view others in terms of race, gender, sexuality, age, ability, class, and more — even if we're not aware of it. Becoming more aware of our own biases can help us look at each other and the world in more honest and constructive ways.

Even if in this instance Bowling was making a lighthearted joke, he ended up revealing a larger truth about how people filter reality through their own embedded biases.

It might be uncomfortable to realize how we can selectively see the truth of the world around us, but getting to know — and hopefully work past — our own prejudices is an educational opportunity worth getting schooled on.

Joy

Sorry, Labradors. After 31 years, America has a new favorite dog.

The American Kennel Club has crowned a new favorite.

via Pixabay

A sad-looking Labrador Retriever

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“I went to Coachella this weekend and I thought this guy was kinda hitting on me but then he just robbed me,” Becca says at the beginning of her three-minute TikTok video with over 3 million views. After the festival, she was left with no ride, money, or means to get in contact with friends and family. She was stranded in the desert.

Becca’s friend’s hotel called her an Uber so she could get to a local store to buy a new phone. The driver she was incredibly lucky to be connected with was a lot more than a guy with a car in a time of need, he was a guardian angel named Raul Torres from Fresno, California, six hours north of Indio.

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She has the perfect question to ask once your partner gets defensive.

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Lauren Consul is a couples and sex therapist who’s developed a following of nearly 160,000 people on TikTok and has received over 5.4 million likes. She is an infidelity expert and hosts retreats to help people "survive and thrive" after one partner has strayed.

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44 years ago he became her protector after a terrible act. Today, they've been reunited in love.

Betsy and Irv are finally getting the happy ending they deserve. Together.

It’s pretty safe to say that everyone loves a good love story.

There’s a whole genre of music and movies dedicated to the idea of someone being swept off of their feet after circumstances tried to keep them from their true love. Romance novels could single handedly keep public libraries and bookstores afloat. Everyone loves "love" and the story of Betsy and Irv just takes the cake. Betsy Sailor attended Penn State University as a business major, which was almost unheard of in 1978 and Irv Pankey attended the university while playing football. The pair’s paths never crossed, until an unfortunate incident bonded the two forever.

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As they say, “It’s not the destination, it’s the journey.”

This old adage was brought to life in a whole new way after two friends who thought they booked tickets to Budapest, Hungary, instead found themselves heading to Bucharest, Romania.

Just a minor 500-mile difference, but who’s counting?

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Babysitting grandpa has the internet in stitches.

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But sometimes, grandparents can be a little...uh...needy, even when they're the best grandparents in every other aspect. Technology has changed so much over the decades since they were raising children, and sometimes they need a little extra help with things that might seem simple. Soon-to-be mom of two, Molly Madfis, took to TikTok to share what happened when her 75-year-old dad, John, was babysitting her 5-year-old, Arlo, for a few days while she was on a "babymoon" with her husband.

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