A light in the dark

   

by Justin Peterson

Flash Fiction:

Within the cold dark depths lives a strange creature, one unlike the rest. It’s many laxed appendages flow through the water as it glides and roams as it pleases. As the creature travels about its trail leaves behind a mist of color among the abyss- brightening its darkened and bleak surroundings.

Artist’s Statement:

The image shows vibrant color shining from my body with a dark background, this image represents me as giving off color and accordingly an intentional feeling or impression of warmth through the use of the editing that added the color. The flash fiction has a similar meaning in a more literal sense. The flash fiction is like a short story that relies heavily on imagery to describe a “creature” with my word and in my mind I described what was, to me, supposed to be an octopus or a similar creature resembling one. I used this creature for the flash fiction both because I think of the ink of an octopus and how it spreads in the water and how fictionally a colored-ink octopus could spread a mist of color throughout a dark underwater environment (also its hard to tell in the image but my shirt also has an octopus pattern on it). The flash fiction/ image can also be interpreted as spreading warmth, hope, happiness, etc. within a bleak environment.  

How does bias impact ourselves and others? So far this semester we have explored the topic of bias through the use of many sources and lessons. Many would believe that they aren’t biased, but really what we have seen is that what really has made the difference in society has not been avoiding differences, but coming together around them. Although most people may generally be uncomfortable connecting with people that are different it is this exact problem that can take away from the ability to make connections. I believe bias results in lost opportunities to allow others to impact our lives and make connections between diverse people.

So far this semester we have learned a lot about personality and bias through many sources. In Verna Meyers’ Ted Talk “How do we overcome bias? Walk boldly toward them” one of her overall statements is that bias keeps us uncomfortable from making connections to those that are different than us. She claims that denial of bias keeps us biased, and this results in discomfort due to the bias that makes us miss the opportunity to make a connection with those different than us. She states that being “color blind” isn’t an issue, “but what we did when we saw the color” (Meyers). This meant that if we were to actually not be biased it wouldn’t be a problem, however we are biased, and that what we do when we see others different than us is the true test of allowing others different than us into our lives. Biases can harm our ability to make connections with those different than us, and from learning about them this semester I conclude that the impact of them is that they take away from our overall opportunities to make connections with those different from ourselves. Allowing connections with those different than ourselves can impact our lives and society by enriching ourselves with the connection of someone else with a different perspective and dissociating from the differences between us in society.