111. Biases

I went to the dentist today. Just for some preventive maintenance. To make sure that I’m ready for a year or so in some very remote places in the Indian Ocean. Toothache is apparently the leading medical complication encountered by long distance sailors. In the old days it was often caused by scurvy but I’m yet to meet a fellow cruiser that suffers from severe vitamin C deficiency. I don’t think sailors today have more problems with their teeth than anyone else but it’s a lot more inconvenient to get toothache when you are days or weeks away from a dentist. So a visit to the dentist is as much a part of my preparation for the Indian Ocean as a rig inspection or an engine service.

For some reason I found myself surprised to note that my dentist and indeed everyone supporting her were females in hijabs. I don’t know why this surprised me. I was actually more surprised that it surprised me. And my reaction disappointed me. It had nothing to do with that they were women, the vast majority of people that have attended to my teeth throughout the years have been women. In some way though, deep down in my unconscious mind, I expected a man in a muslim country. In this case it was a pleasant surprise as these young ladies were extremely professional and more caring and friendly than anyone I can remember from previous dental appointments. They could not stop asking me about my adventures even though it was a little hard to answer with tubes and drills in my mouth. And by the way, I say young ladies, but in all honesty they could have been anything from in their mid-twenties to a generation older. It was very hard to tell as they were wearing hijabs accompanied by the usual dental masks. But that’s not the point. The point is that it may have been a pleasant surprise at the time, but why was I surprised that a bunch of young (?) muslim ladies in hijabs felt comfortable with rooting around in an aging western sailor dude’s mouth? In their country. I’m not sure every redneck at home would feel the same as a patient. But I’m a world explorer, I’m openminded, I’ve sailed to 38 countries and I’ve spent the past six months in muslim countries. I should know better.

So as I was lying there in the dental chair I started to think of what has caused this potential bias. This uninformed prejudice against muslims. A quarter of the world’s population. The cab driver that drove me there was a muslim woman in a hijab and that, if anything, should have been more surprising as I can’t even recall riding with any female cab driver in Sweden. This bias didn’t come from any first or even second hand experience. In fact, everyone I’ve met in Indonesia and Malaysia have been just like me. We’ve laughed at the same jokes, expected the same from whoever we elected to power and we have been equally interested in learning about our respective origins. And never have we resorted to try to find what makes us different from one another. We have always sought and found common ground. Shared beliefs, dreams and interests.

I can only conclude with a couple of points. First, I’ve been just as brainwashed as anyone else. In no way do I think that it has had an impact on how I deal with people that look different or that have other beliefs. But I really don’t like to even have to question if I’m openminded or if my expectations come from my own experiences or from someone else’s bias. Secondly, I need to constantly remind myself of that weak communicators, be it politicians or journalists, need a counterpart or an enemy to state their opinion. I don’t want to be a weak communicator and I certainly don’t want to force my opinion on others. I just want to be openminded and develop my own opinion based on first hand experiences. In my mind that’s a really good reason to continue this journey.