The Personal side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The Personal side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

The study of biasness, prejudices, and oppressions can be a challenging study, but is needed in order to entice a peaceful resolution and a quest for change. Through this study, I have been asked to give examples of prejudice, oppressive, and offensive infractions that I have experienced or witnessed in my personal or professional life. As a woman of color, my entire life is made up of so many of these infractions that I’m not sure where to start. In addition to these infractions, it is somewhat painful to remember them, so I choose to reflect on the overall experience. For example, discriminating actions deliberately taking my order last when it is clear that I was next in line, or words said such as “you people are always getting things wrong”, or stereo typing by moving my son’s desk in a corner while the other kids desk are being decorated for a holiday party and me, his mother walking the classroom to see these things happening, or learning that some neighbors yelled angrily at my young sons telling them to “slow down kids are playing here” when his car was just running loud, or when I decided not to make a purchase and to see the looks on faces and to hear someone say the word “typical”. Although these are just a few small examples, they can be extremely damaging and in that thought, not small at all. Just as Dr. Sue mentioned in his presentation about microaggressions, that “it becomes very annoying to constantly deal with these hidden assaults day after day” (Laureate, 2011).

 

 

Because the infractions of these oppressive and rude behaviors are so disturbing and hurtful, I don’t like to think of them. Active words of advice always given are to “stop thinking about it”, “don’t let it take over”, and, “try to forget it”, but in the process of trying to forget, we usually put pieces of it to rest but we never forget. We are left mostly with the feelings that the infraction caused.

The feelings that are experienced can be from feeling like there’s something desperately wrong with people like me, to rehearsing in your head what just happened to see where did I go wrong, what did I do wrong, to feeling less than, or not of any importance, and that I am well beneath them and do not and will never hold equity with them, “the dominant race of people”.  

In order to bring about change for peace, and equity, educating people of the pain and the stripping of humanity that takes place in the soul of a person that is ever lasting must take place. It is important that others stand up for what’s right and speak out when they notice unfair injustice behavior towards other races: just as it is the latest push for change in bullying by encouraging people to stand up and speak out to stop bullying the same should be for unkind treatment of others because after all it is also a form of bullying. Be brave and stand up for basic human rights and kindness, just as the mother who stood up for me and my son by pushing my son’s desk over with the other kids and she began to decorate it: that small jester did so much for me that day and I’ll never forget it.

Because hurtful words and actions can be so stripping and life changing, it is the driving force to why I inter act with such care when working with children of any age. It is also my teaching philosophy.

Reference

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [video file].

     Retrieve from https://class.waldenu.edu.