I recently came across the Love Has No Labels tv commercial organized by the Anti-Defamation League.
The public service advertising campaign “encourages people to examine and challenge their own implicit bias.” The campaign features different types of people outdoors in a park, watching a big screen television. Behind the x-rayed screen you see skeleton-like figures touching, dancing, embracing, and kissing one another. After a few seconds, the two people come from behind the scree, and most folks are amazed at what they see. The first couple was an Asian man and a Black woman. The second pairing consisted of two women. The third couple consisted of two young siblings—one whom was disabled.
Ingrained Biases
The ad was made to first, allow us to acknowledge our ingrained biases. It was easy to assume, when we saw what appeared to be a man and a woman, that they were both of the same race. Likewise, regarding the second couple, most folks probably assumed the two kissing were a man and a woman. Finally, in seeing the siblings, it’s doubtful anyone would have assumed that one of the little girls was disabled.
The ad also encouraged us to embrace diversity and to put aside labels in the name of love. According to the Ad Council: “While the vast majority of Americans consider themselves unprejudiced, many of us unintentionally make snap judgments about people based on what we see—whether it’s race, age, gender, religion, sexuality, or disability. The Love Has No Labels campaign challenges us to open our eyes to our bias and prejudice and work to stop it in ourselves, our friends, our families, and our colleagues.”
Social Activism
We as humans must realize that love is an amazing thing. It clean, it’s clear, its unbiased, its tolerant, it’s for real. In this day and age, we are sadly encouraged to limit our love; to position it toward folks who look and think like us. I say be bold, and rid yourself of that antiquated thinking. Dare to be independent, be courageous, be a lover of all people.
The campaign launched nationally in March of 2015 and has received upwards of 164 million views, making it the second most viewed social activism video of all time. You can watch the compelling video on YouTube here. It says it all.
To learn how you can take steps to end bias, visit the Love Has No Labels website here. On the site, you can also take a quick quiz to open up the eyes against any biasness.
