Blog Post Four
Q: Microaggressions and other inequalities will inevitably persist largely due to the dominant middle class culture of power. Discuss.
I agree with the statement that microaggressions and other inequalities with inevitably persist largely due to the dominant middle class culture of power. I believe the first steps to take are acknowledging that these inequalities exist and accepting that there will always be inequality and discrimination of some form. From when we are young our families, friends, and media form microaggressions in our brains. When we grow older these remarks and jokes become more and more engrained in our heads. That is the true harm, we do not understand the power that these messages hold until we have made the mistake of saying them, hurting somebody's feelings, and realizing what we have said was derogotory. However most of the time these thoughts are subconcious so we do not realize how bad they truely are. This is why they will persist. They have the power to slide under the radar because most of the time they are not said, people are too afraid or unconcerned to correct the person, etc.
The hard part of "eliminating" microagressions is that so many people in the United States alone do not see them as racism. Americans imagine only blatant acts of racism, like those that were extremely prominant in the South until around the 70's, not the harmful "harmless jokes". Microaggressions will persist because there are so many people in our own country who will never acknowledge how their seemingly harmless words and actions hurt others. Even the most non-racist of people have microaggressions which make them cross the street late at night when they see a person of color in a hoody walking down the street.
The hard part of "eliminating" microagressions is that so many people in the United States alone do not see them as racism. Americans imagine only blatant acts of racism, like those that were extremely prominant in the South until around the 70's, not the harmful "harmless jokes". Microaggressions will persist because there are so many people in our own country who will never acknowledge how their seemingly harmless words and actions hurt others. Even the most non-racist of people have microaggressions which make them cross the street late at night when they see a person of color in a hoody walking down the street.
#4: While I do believe that microaggressions will never cease to exist, I don’t believe that this is due to a dominance in middle class culture. All financial brackets play a role. Microaggressions solely exist because we are a society of people who find it easier to judge others based on subtleties instead of actually delving into someone’s character and conduct. Just the fact that we are all different allows microaggression to ensue. But the main problem is that most people don’t see this is as a real issue. We have become so ingrained in a stereotypical way of thinking that we actually have come to believe that the assumptions we make are true. It’s not just a class thing; it’s a race thing, a gender thing, a religion thing, a sexual orientation thing. Microaggressions occur because they are the default way we deal with interacting with people who are different than us. It’s mostly subconscious; sometimes I find myself doing, but I usually check myself. We all can’t help ourselves. There’s always going to be an occasion where we ask an Asian friend for help with math homework or are surprised by the articulateness of a person of color because these things (or a lack thereof) are what we have come to expect as the norm. Denying the validity of this notion is even greater ignorance in itself.
ReplyDeleteThe way to combat microaggressions is to first become educated about them. We should all know that what we believe about other people is not always accurate and that acting on these assumptions just adds fuel to the fire that is already ablaze in our nation. Once we have become educated, we must apply our new insight to daily life. If find ourselves making the same assumptions, we check our ourselves and keep in mind that they are just biases and not actual truths. Acknowledging our faults is the only way to combat them and make for a better coexistence with others.