In order to really have empathy, you need to hear the whole story so, you need to look at both sides. Looking at both sides will help to eliminate being biased towards one side. According to Bloom, “Further, spotlights only illuminate what they are pointed at, so empathy reflects our biases.” (Bloom 1) This means if you only look at one side, you may feel empathy towards that side because that is what you are shown, but you should look at both sides of the story, so you know which side is correct or if one side is wrong. You may not always be able to see both sides though. You will not always know what someone is thinking or why they did something, but you should not always assume they did it to be mean. According to DFW, “Or that the Hummer that just cut me off is maybe being driven by a father whose little child is hurt or sick in the seat next to him, and he’s trying to get this kid to the hospital,… force myself to consider the likelihood that everyone else in the supermarket’s checkout line is just as bored and frustrated as I am, and that some of these people probably have harder, more tedious and painful lives than I do.” (DFW 5) In this quote, DFW explains how people can be dealing with things in their own lives, that you are not able to see. If someone does something rude, you are not able to ask what is going on and get both sides, but you should not assume they are trying to be mean because they could be doing it for a good reason. If you only see the side about them being mean, you will not be able to understand and have empathy towards them.