Saturday, July 21, 2012
Practicing Awareness of Microagressions
I believe that microagressions can whether intentional, or unintentionla can cause much damage to a person's self-esteem and overall happiness. My experience with microagressions caused me to become livid. My anger stemed from a statement that a professional made during a conversation at work. This professional seems to always make racial remarks although he works in a neighborhood that is filled with poverty. It disturbed me that he would only hope for the worst for some of these students. He would negatively predict how their lives would be in the future which made me so angry. The school that we work in is predominantly black and he is a white male. During a personal conversation he asked if the guy I was dating has a job. In my opinion I feel as if he was implying that black men do not work. From that day forward I did not look at him the same and I always wonder what is his purpose of working in that environment if he thinks so negatively about black people who live in poverty. I really wish I would have approached him about this, but I did have a conversation with my supervisor who provided me with much support. Microagressions can ruin relationships regardless of who is involved in the assault. How can you base beliefs upon a person's skin color in my opinion this is ignorance and some of the most educated people are the most ignorant. I believe that it is sad to stereotype people into one classification based upon income, skin color, or anything else they should become educated and learn more about the individual person. This can cause many psychological issues and cause a person to shut down without living to their fullest potential.
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4 comments:
Greetings. I sometimes wonder about confronting a person about their prejudices. I don't think I have ever done so directly. I have a friend that is very committed to making people aware when they have done something that is offensive. I respect that sort of courage. And yet, my culture does not value confrontation.
I think that after a certain point in one's life, it becomes increasingly difficult to shed one's prejudices. I was very fortunate. I went to college as - well - a bigot. I had some pretty horrific prejudices. As a freshman, I did something that is shameful. I was confronted by a dorm mate, a black (West Indian) student from Los Angeles. But he confronted me in a way that was compassionate as well as upset. He changed my life. I don't know if I could have corrected my path without that event early enough in my life to make a difference.
Hi Sophia,
It sounds as if this person is working in the wrong environment. How can he give the best to his students if his feeling of racial equities are so squewed? Hopefully your discussion with your supervisor will spur intervention.
Thanks for your post, microagressions can be humiliating but it also shows the ignorance of others.
-krucker
You're absolutely right to feel as you do. I am wondering many of the same things. Perhaps because he is "out of his element" (as I would label him, but you know what happens when we start that), he feels he must display his "power" as a White male in order to feel adequate?? I am wondering what his microinvalidations are doing to his students. Have you tried to visit with your supervisor or the board about his behavior?
Great post! I appreciate your honesty. I think most often microaggression occurs between friends and acquaintances. Many times people do not want to speak up or are eager to avoid a conflict, this ultimately results in a loss of relationship.
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