An Experiment in Empathy (TED talk) by Sociologist Sam Richards
June 4, 2012
Empathy often requires understanding another’s world view whether or not one agrees with it. View an 18-minute segment in which Professor Sam Richard’s looks at American foreign policy through the perspective of an Iraqi insurgent. Richards leads one of the largest college courses on race relations. Click here to view the talk.
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CJS-360 Diversity Issues 
I believe that Professor Richards brings to light an issue which most people never even think of. His discussion on empathy and the ability to understand others demonstrates how powerful these abilities are. It is very easy for people to get an “us versus them” mentality when they don’t use empathy or understanding. Many forms of bias and negative views toward others can stem from the inability to empathize or understand. The use of empathy and understanding or lack thereof greatly influences how different and diverse groups interact and view one another. This can have devastating affects especially when certain groups or people have more authority or power over another, such as, law enforcement officers’ interactions with citizens. The United States tends to see the consequences of poor understanding and lack of empathy in the law enforcement profession on daily basis.
I thought this was an amazing video on prospective. I would be angered if the roles were reversed on me. I do feel that many Americans would not give up their luxuries to end this. We have become accustom to this way of living, which makes it hard to go back. I feel we could go forward if we allowed things such as domestic drilling for oil in America. By arguing and coming up with excuses not to do this, we are in fact keeping other cultures down.
I really liked how Sam Richards reversed our viewpoint of Muslims to the Muslim’s viewpoint of “Christian” America. In all honesty I think religion has caused way too much pain and suffering. People will gladly kill in sake of religion, which really bugs me. We have to be sensitive to other people religions and allow them to do certain things that people of other religions cannot get away with. I feel things would be less complicated, more fair, and better off if we treated all religions the same and removed them from politics.
Society lives in misunderstanding everyday. We put faces on everything we don’t know about but make assumptions upon, such as stereotyping and profiling. Because society categorizes and profiles certain groups of people, our justice system incarcerates more minorities.
Great overall speech on a topic that could be very useful to a lot of people in America and around the world. The great part about Professor Richards speech is that if everyone could accept this thought process and attempt to use it there daily life, it could greatly benefit our country. The problem with this, is that it takes us all collectively to empathize with one another to make it work to our benefit. If we can put ourselves in the shoes of those we are fighting, but they can not do the same for us, there will be no mutually beneficial resolution. This mindset can be of great benefit to one another in the United States. We often prejudge others whom we don’t understand, or know, or relate to and being able to use the tools that Professor Richards spoke on could change how we treat one another. Imagine the type of change this could implement in the criminal justice system and hot button topics such as the death penalty, the three strike clause, and severe sentencing issues. So often we demonize those who have wronged society by breaking our laws or killing one another and to a certain degree, rightfully so. But if we can learn to understand the individuals in our criminal justice system its possible that we can also learn to make effective changes in our criminal justice system which has turned to far to severe punishments such as death penalty and life sentences.