A week or so ago, I was in Hannaford. I was in an isle with
an older lady. She dropped her pen and I bent down to pick it up for her. As I did
that I said, “Don’t worry about bending down. I got it for you, ma’am.” I was
only doing it out of kindness but I could see on her face that she was thrown
back by what I said. I could see how she might take this as an insult to her
age. This happened in everyday life, in a public facility. After I had walked
away from the lady I felt embarrassed. After this week, I realized that was a
form of microaggression.
One of the biggest things that I took away this week was
that prejudices, stereotypes, and discrimination are unintentional. It still
hurts deep for those that are the target. It is our lack of understanding and
many times our unconscious feeling of superiority and ignorance our society
puts out. In terms of the lady in Hannaford, I did make a judgment by her age
in my mind. As a teacher I need to think before I speak. I need to put myself
in others shoes. Ask questions and find resources about cultures and the
prejudices I have and our society has. Prejudices, stereotypes and
discrimination are due to the lack of knowledge and superiority that people
feel like they need or think that have.
Hi Samantha,
ReplyDeleteAs I was reading your post I'm thinking to myself that I have to be mindful of unconscious behaviors. When I'm in the super market I like to help senior citizens. I just feel like many of them shouldn't shop alone so I would help bagging their groceries, lifting items off the shelf, or even help in pushing their shopping cart. Before reading your post I didn't find anything wrong with what I'm doing. However, I see that my unconscious wanting to help can be offensive. The last thing senior citizens want to reminded of is their age. It didn't hit me that maybe they like shopping alone because it can give them time to themselves. I would assume that many seniors want to feel like they can take care of themselves just like they did when they were younger. In child care this same scenario can be helpful too. Children get to a certain age when they don't want you to help them all the time. As educators we may feel that helping is apart of our job but to a child they feel like you are treating them like a baby. Wow.....I'm really seeing this post now in many different aspects....Your post was really helpful. Thank You!!!!