Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

Describe at least one example of a microaggression which you detected this week or remember from another time. A microagression that I detected this week did not happen to me but to a friend of mine. He was out to dinner at an Indian restaurant with his partner and when it was time to pay he paid with his credit card. When the waitress returned to the table she gave him the wrong credit card. The name on the card was an Indian name and my friend, although he looked Indian is a Mexican American. When he told her she gave him the wrong card she said “are you sure?” insinuating that he looked Indian so that must be his card. 

In what context did the microaggression happen? I feel like her microaggression was a racial microaggression and had perceived minimal harm. 

What did you think and feel when you observed the microaggression or when you found yourself as the target of a microaggression? I wasn’t the target of the microaggression but my friend reported that he felt insignificant and the fact that he said the card wasn’t his was not proof enough so it made an awkward situation even more so.

In what ways did your observation experiences this week affect your perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people? It reiterated the importance of being aware of our own prejudices and biases. It also reminded me to think before I speak and don’t judge a book by its cover. Even if we have the best of intentions sometimes what we say can have negative effects on the recipient of the comment.

Perspectives of Diversity and Culture

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Yesterday I was fortunate to attend the 2016 Spring Institute in Seattle on Children, Race, and Racism. During this training I asked three colleagues for their definition of culture. The first definition that I received came from someone who has over 20 years of experience working with culturally diverse populations and she herself is bi-racial. The second definition that I received came from a Native American colleague who is a story teller. The third definition that I received came from a Japanese colleague who teaches others about Peacemaking circles and has a passion for racial healing and social justice leadership.

It is interesting that all of individuals I spoke with had similar definitions of culture. Culture is everything that shapes and defines an individual. Beyond the visual aspects of culture; food, clothing, housing, etc. we must look at the values and beliefs and philosophies that carry and shape who we are. During this course so far the definitions that I have received from others and the definition in the text are similar. We all have a generic definition of culture but I have learned so far through this course that culture is many things to many people and it is always evolving. I think the example in our text that attempts to define culture is the best one that I have found.
The phenomena we call ‘culture’ arise as people pool and accumulate their discoveries and as they institute conventions to coordinate their labors and adjudicate their conflicts. When groups of people separated by time and geography accumulate different discoveries and conventions we use the plural and call them cultures” (Smidt, S. p.85 2012).

When it comes to diversity the same holds true. These educated individuals of multiple races look at diversity as different elements or qualities of individuals (like race, ethnicity, language, etc.) that make them who they are, when they are with others in a group or organization looking at all of their different attributes makes the group more diverse.

By listening to others definitions of culture and diversity and thinking back on the learning resources I have broadened my thinking whe it comes to culture and diversity. At the beginning of this course I thought of myself as not very diverse and I could not exaclty pinpoint my cluture; these definitions have helped me to identify with who I am. They have also helped me to realize that culturally I need to know myself in order to help children understand race, culture and diversity. I have just began a journey to understanding race, culture and diversity so that I can help children to make meaning of society's messages and help to support development of a healthy racial and ethnic identity in them. 

My: Family Culture

If there was a catastrophic event and my immediate family and I had to be relocated and I could only take three items, the three items I would take are: A photo album, my bible and jenga. My family is the most important thing in my life so therefore the photos of them when they were babies, and young children are invaluable to me. No matter what I have been through in my life the words in my bible have always brought me comfort and helped lead me in the right direction, so that is why I would include my bible. The third item is a pleasure item that my children and I enjoy together; our jenga game. Jenga is a strategy game, it is simply wooden pieces you stack and try to re-stack without knocking the block tower over.

I do not place much value on material items especially if my immediate family and I were all safe. If upon arrival I was told that I could only keep one personal item I would select my bible. My bible offers words of wisdom passed down from generation to generation and is also a comfort item for me.

I have realized as a result of this exercise that there are very few items in my life that represent my family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences that I can identify. I value relationships and family as well as religion but these are not material items that I could carry with me. Most of what I value is intrinsic. These are my children and they mean the world to me :)