Microaggression

Describe at least one example of a microaggression which you detected this week or remember for another time. What did you think and feel when you observed the microaggression? Or when you found yourself as the target of microaggression?

 

             I was talking to a friend on the phone. We were discussing the continuous presence of racial discrimination on blacks from cops, fairness in the legal system, and stereotyping from members of the dominant society. He claimed that all whites are racist because they are white. I disagreed and said "all white aren't racist and all blacks aren't unsuccessful" Yes, racism exists but it is not okay to assume that all Caucasians discriminate against members of the black culture. Some of my best friends are white and have always stood up for me. He said "Don't worry, you live in the suburbs. You think your white and it's sad that you think that you are equal to them."

          In this example, I felt like my friend deliberately tried to put me down. He basically said that I wasn't really African American because I was raised in the suburbs and not the city. It is the worse feeling to not feel that you aren't accepted in your own ethnic culture. According to my friend, I'm not black because I don't follow stereotypical behavior of urban blacks. I have a different view of diversity because I have been raised around many other cultures; not only fellow African Americans. I celebrate the differences of others and allow myself to be who I what to be. Also, I felt that he didn't feel that I should look for the best in life. It saddens me that some African Americans think that if you talk proper English, desire to live in a safer neighborhood, look for the best school districts, and/or have higher expectations than you must think that you are white.

 

In what ways did your observation experiences this week affect your perception of the effects of discrimination, prejudice, and/or stereotypes on people

 

              This week, I realized that stereotyping any person is wrong. Individuals should be allowed to be who they want to be; not based on ethnicity but based on their own culture. A person who is raised in the suburbs may have a more open view about getting to know individuals from different cultures. This does not mean that African Americans raised in the suburbs are white. An African American will never be white and can't act white. Racism not only exists among other cultures but also between members of the same culture. For example, urban blacks sometimes discriminate against suburban blacks based on non-compliance to stereotypical perceptions of what they think it means to be black.