Describe at least one example of a microaggression which you detected this week or remember from another time. In what context did the microaggression happen? What did you think and feel when you observed the microaggression or when you found yourself as the target of a microaggression?
- When we first moved to Pensacola Florida my daughter had an incident with her teacher because she was made fun of because she talks so proper, or should I say, she didn't use broken English or slang words and the teacher told her she needed to stop playing and use her regular voice because she doesn't talk like that. I didn't understand what that mean, so I went to the school and talk to her teacher and she told me, "She thought my daughter was disguising her voice to try to make the other students laugh." Well my daughter was upset because she told the teacher this is the way she talk which is very proper. I told the school how was my daughter suppose to talk using broken English, ebonics, or even slang. The school really did not know what to say and I kind of made a statement that not all black people spoke improper English. I was upset because not only was my daughter going to get in trouble for speaking proper English but she was also told to speak the right way and my question was, "What was the proper way to speak?"
In what ways did your observation experiences this week affect your perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people?
- This subject is really touching to me because I experienced racism as a child and when I moved to the South from California I did not think that racism like I have observed in the South still exist, but in fact it does. Children living in the South are still labeled or stereotyped because the way they talk, dress, social economic status, and gender. Because as a society African American males are labeled as dead beat dads, staying in out of prison, or jail, uneducated, and pretty much not achieving anything in life. I see this everyday young boys being pat down, thrown on the car, or pulled over because they look, or dress suspicious. People should not be judged or classified as everyone else but, unfortunately this will continue in the world into we learn to except, and appreciate every one's differences.
Denice,
ReplyDeleteIt is quite shocking the amount of racist that still exists in the South, especially in small towns and rural areas. They are still in the mind set of how ti was when African-Americans were slaves and the only ones with rights were male white men. Its a shame how ignorant some Southeners are. I'm embarrassed by it. People everywhere ae racist to some extent.. those who live in the North (Northeners) call people from the South Southeners and vise versa. It does not matter where you go or who you are, you will always find racism.
One of my first experiences of how segregated parts of the US still were was about 10 years ago. At the time my older brother was living in Mississippi with the Air Force. As we drove down the road to his house he described how the white people in that particular community lived on one side of the street and the black people lived on the other side of the road and they did not cross. There were certain stores on each side of the road and you did not see mixed races in them. This was my first trip that far south and was completely shocked that people still lived like that. It was a very eye opening experience. It would be interesting to revisit that area and see if any changes have happened since. I think unfortunately our world will never be prejudice free.
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