Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Microaggressions take place every day but mostly go unnoticed by the aggressor, but not the target. Microaggressions are described as brief everyday indignities that may be verbal, behavioral, or environmental, communicated intentionally or unintentionally, and contain an insulting message (Laureate Education, Inc., 2012). I was fortunate this week not to notice any microassaults, which are intentional, overt discriminations. I am sure there were some minor microaggressions that took place; however, I am still training my brain to pick up on them. Being more mindful and observing things more closely this week has helped me notice when hidden biases come out towards others who are different than me. This week was such an eye-opener.

I can share about an experience I had during my undergraduate studies. I took a class on teaching English while at Temple University. We were studying different dialects and phrases around the United States. I answered a question correctly regarding another name for a creek, and one of my peers was shocked that I knew the answer. Her remark was, “How did you even know that?” I explained to her and the rest of the class that in Maryland, we have other names for the creeks in our area. At the time she made me feel like I was not smart enough, or capable to answer that question because no one else in the class knew. I was one of five minorities in a class of about twenty-five students. The moment was very uncomfortable, and I believe she did not intentionally mean to offend me, but she did. I brushed off the microinsult and just laughed, but I was definitely uncomfortable.

 

Reference

 Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (2012).Microaggressions in everyday life. [DVD]. Perspectives in Diversity & Equity. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Perspectives on Culture & Diversity

            For this assignment, we were tasked with asking at least three people their definitions of culture and diversity. I asked my Mom (age 59, a businesswoman in a university setting), my Auntie (age 81, retired USAA), and my cousin (age 21, college student). It was not surprising that I received three totally different answers. My Mom gave her answers from a personal point of view, while my Auntie gave a more general answer. My cousin’s answer was very vague and was a sad representation of today’s generation. Educating the youth and young adult population is so important, but unfortunately it is lacking.

            So far in this course, I have understood culture to be every aspect of an individual’s world. Culture is more than just a person’s race and ethnicity. My Auntie seemed to understand that as well. She defined culture as “a combination of skills and knowledge that enables a person to traverse through life and basically exist in society.” She also added that a person who lacks culture also lacks an understanding of how to get along in the world. Culture is very complex and encompasses everything that we do every day. Without it, we would probably live sheltered lives.

            From my Mom’s personal point of view, she viewed culture as being part of one’s heritage. As an African American, she believes that her culture stems from people who paved the way before her so she can be exposed to what other African Americans have done and how other races helped them to get to that point. To her, culture involves what you experience as part of your environment. Unfortunately, my cousin has a very narrow view of culture and believes it to be a person’s ethnic background. Needless to say, she received a mini-lesson on culture this evening.

            Diversity was a tricky topic for all three of my volunteers. Diversity is basically what makes us different. Auntie said it is a multitude of things, and she is right. She believes that “the more diverse a person is, the better off everyone will be.” It is important to have knowledge of the differences around you in order to live and get along with others. Being diverse enriches and enlightens people and society. On the other hand, my Mom sees the negative side of diversity. In her line of work, she believes there is no such thing. “People preach it, but you don’t actually see it.” For her, diversity means an equal opportunity for all and unfortunately, America (mainly the dominant culture) has not embraced this idea fully.

            Listening to their thoughts on culture and diversity confirmed how important it is to understand the differences around us. For the younger generation, we need to teach them to embrace differences and uniqueness and stop being afraid of the challenging topics. My cousin is a prime example of what happens when a person does not step out of their comfort zone. She is so sheltered and does not even realize it. I try to teach her new things and provide her with new experiences but I am hit with resistance because it is so different. This younger generation is our future. We need to change how we and what we teach them, consciously and unconsciously.

My Family Culture

Imagine the following:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.

The three items I would take with me are

1. My Bible
1. I would need my Bible because it would give me the strength and guidance to keep going. It is my solid foundation. Having to be uprooted from everything I know would be overwhelming, but being reminded daily to have faith in my Provider would give me strength.

2. My Simpsons lunchbox
1. This is where I keep all of my movie stubs, concert stubs, etc. I also keep other mementos from trips and events. I would take this because it represents my culture and what I love to do.

3. Family photo album
1. Even though my family would be with me, I would still like to keep photos from past shared experiences. I would let them know that we would somehow be able to add new experiences to our album, just like we add new experiences to my lunchbox.