Blog for week 4

I agree with the statement that “microaggressions and other inequalities will inevitably persist largely due to the dominant middle class culture of power.” Of the five aspects of a “culture of power” outlined by Lisa Delpit in “The Silenced Dialogue,” the fifth aspect is the one that I consider the most important in the perpetuation of microaggressions, and any form of racism in general. Many microaggressions are unintentional, and many people, who may consider themselves to be not racist, are unaware of the microaggressions that they may be sending towards other people. I know I myself am guilty of this – when my friend taught me about microaggressions early this year, I realized that I had done some of the things that she qualified as a microaggression, without even knowing it. As long as the people in control in this “middle class culture of power” are oblivious to the many ways in which they are shutting out minorities and their points of view, than microaggressions will continue to exist. Awareness to the subtle insults that attack groups of people daily is the way to bring about change, because, for most people at least (including myself), someone bringing up what they have been doing, subconsciously or consciously, can help them realize why it is hurtful and help them be aware of when they are doing it.

Also, the fact that the “culture of power” is enacted in the classroom is another reason that I believe that it will hard to eradicate microaggressions and other inequalities. Teachers are not immune to microaggressions, and so from an early age, many minority students are taught that they are not the ones in control in this “culture of power” and can become discouraged to try and change the system. I think that if teachers were more aware of how the small microaggressions could affect their students, we could move one step closer to remove microaggressions.