· Describe at least one example of a microaggression which you detected this week or remember from another time. In what context did the microaggression happen? What did you think and feel when you observed the microaggression or when you found yourself as the target of a microaggression?
· I have two personal stories about microaggression. The first one is about my own brother. It is how a high school teacher treated him differently and a conversation that I had with that teacher. My brother is the youngest of my family, he is the only boy and he was diagnosed ADD/LD/Gifted. He had a very difficult time in school. My mother made sure he had an IEP in place and that he was in “regular” classrooms as much as possible. I will never forget the time when my brother’s teacher stopped me in the hallway and stated “Your brother really isn’t that smart is he?” I was appalled that a teacher would say something like that. I asked what he meant by that and he stated that my brother was not doing well in his class like I did when I was in that class. I asked the teacher if he was following my brother’s IEP. The teacher just looked at me like he did not know what I was talking about. I talked to my mother when I got home that night. I was furious at the teacher. My brother had a learning disability but if you followed his IEP, he could succeed. He was actually gifted in some aspects. I feel that this experience at least for me was a microinsult. This teacher I truly believe didn’t think he was saying anything wrong. Just because my brother had an IEP did not mean he wasn’t smart. He was comparing my brother to me. I feel that this could be a gender microaggression as well.
· The second experience was during my first year of college. I would go to child development class every week and have to listen to this male student disrespect a female student. He did it before class, during class and even after class. The professor had told him to stop many times but this student would not stop for long. One day the female could not take it anymore and she ran out of the class in tears. I turned around and asked the male student if he liked people thinking that he was “dumb” just because he was a football player and his name was Bubba. He looked at me in amazement and stated that he did not like that at all. I calmly stated that he was doing the same thing to the female that just left. Yes she was an African American basketball player, but it did not mean that she was a drug dealer or a “slut”. The professor pulled me aside after class and discussed what had happened in class since normally I did not talk much in class. I stated that I had had enough of Bubba saying things to the female student. I apologized to the professor but he would not accept my apology. He stated that he wanted to see that passion in my work the rest of the class. The female student found me on campus and talked to me about what happened after she ran out of the class. She asked why I had stood up for her since she and I had not ever talked before. I told her that I felt someone had to and that no one deserves to be treated that way from anyone. She thanked me and we became friends throughout that class. This experience was for me a racial aggression. Bubba was making comments towards this female because she was an African American woman. It was in my opinion a microassault because he was doing this deliberately ever chance he got. I was very angry and upset that everyone even me let it go on so long. I couldn’t take it anymore that no one was standing up to him so I stepped up and called him on his behaviors. I feel this is when I really because concerned how people treat other people just because they are different. I felt ashamed that a member of my own race treated someone like that. I still get emotional when I tell the story, I am not proud of what happened in that classroom and I wish I would have stepped up earlier. No one should ever have to go through that and I know people deal with things like this every day which is very upsetting.
· 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 has been very entertaining at the office. My co-workers always ask me what I’m learning about each week. So when I told them about microaggressions and what they were, they spent the rest of the week looking for them. By the end of the week they had decided that we being all women in the office really aren’t nice to each other. We would catch ourselves starting to say something then stop and say something else. We have realized there are many times we say things as a joke or quickly that could be offensive. We were at the Teddy Bear Picnic and a woman came up to the group and told us there would be pizza coming and we were to have some. I walked up to one of my co-workers and stated “she really means you, since you are so skinny she probably figured you could use some food.” We both laughed then I apologized and said that I was sorry because that could have been offensive for her. She wasn’t offended but that was the joke the rest of the day, watching what each one said to see if it was a microaggression. We figured out it is very easy to offend someone without meaning to and not realize that you did it. We are all trying to work on that in the office now.
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