I can remember a time when I was the recipient of
a microaggression. The comment made to me was “that was really very generous;
you are not stingy with money at all”. The comment was made when we were
collecting money for a group gift for a coworker that was leaving our school. I
guess I must have given more than she thought I would have being Jewish. I was a little shocked to hear her say that. She
never made any stereotypical remarks before this incident. The hidden message
to me was that Jews are all cheap.
The experience made me feel very uncomfortable
and hurt. I felt that I was being stereotyped based on my religion as I have
heard these type of comments before. People
do not necessarily mean to intentionally stereotype. They are not trying to hurt feelings but these
comments are very upsetting. This experience is not even close to how it must
feel to be the victim of prejudice or discrimination but I did get a glimpse
into the negative feelings about yourself when you are lumped into a category
and stereotyped because of any one of a number of your social identities.
After learning about microagressions this week,
I learned that we must be aware of what we say and how we say it. I am really
now thinking differently about prejudice, stereotypes and discrimination. Little
comments and slights are cumulative in nature and cause harm and damage to the recipient.
We should not make anyone feel offended by our words or actions. There can be
unintentional hidden messages behind every seemingly benign comment and
compliment. As early childhood educators working everyday with children and
families, it is our responsibility to ensure that we do not marginalize anyone.
Hi Lisa,
ReplyDeleteThat is very interesting to hear and suprising still that people make such comments directly like that. Even if one has been taught such information about a specific group, it is common courtesy to refrain from speaking about others in a negative light. My mother has always told me, if you don't have anything nice to say then say nothing at all. It seems people have gone off course and anything goes now a days. It goes to show education is key, I believe if people who act this way understood the impacts that are made as a result just maybe people would be a lot kinder to one another instead. Thanks for sharing!