Microaggression Awareness

Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

I would have to say the microaggression I experienced this week was my own at the doctor’s office. I went to see my doctor because of some pain I have been experiencing in my foot and big toe.  I had some x-rays taken and some blood drawn and the conclusion came back as I have gout. Having no clue what gout was, my doctor explained that it was due to uric acid that builds up in the blood and begins to affect the joints of areas such as the big toe, knee, or ankle. I then asked him what causes it and he said it was due to lack of exercise, weight gain, and diet in which he asked me if I was interested in losing weight. I was not offended by his suggestion, because I said I was interested. I am very sedimentary and have not exercised properly in 9 years.  Someone else may have taken this suggestion the wrong way and it could have been as a microaggression suggesting that I am overweight which I am. I need to start eating healthy and exercising because I will be 50 in October and too many people in my area have died from massive heart attacks.

This week and this class continue to make me stop and think before I speak about someone. My husband had a microaggression moment last night in regards to the tragedy in Aurora, Colorado. He has expressed some very strong opinions about the person who committed the shootings. I am sure all of us at some point yesterday had those same feelings. I think I continue to make myself more aware of how I speak about someone because of my daughter. She is 17 and will be a senior this fall. I don’t want my lack of discretion and couth influencing her opinion because of something I said. There have been several times when she has had to remind me to watch what and how I talk about people, especially people she goes to school with. She does a great job and I am amazed at how she handles herself.

Perspectives on Culture and Diversity

The first person that I interviewed was a male in his late forties. He is a credit systems manager.  He and I went to high school together. His definition of culture and diversity was “the lifestyle and family values that have been instilled and passed down from generation to generation. Even though my lifestyle is different from the one I grew up with, I am still who I am and my family accepts me as I am.” He is gay and his family has never wavered at his revelation.

The second person that I interviewed was a female in her middle fifties. She retired from teaching 3 years ago and has been doing a wide variety of activities since. She defined culture and diversity as “culture is how you were raised. The people around you, your home, your beliefs, your mannerisms are all a part of your culture. We are all raised differently; some of us are raised in similar settings; some completely different. Diversity is what makes us unique, different, and special. Diversity helps us to learn and grow from others.”

The third person that I interviewed was a female in her mid-twenties. She teaches high school science classes and is about to move to a new school district. She sees culture as “my family and my family’s beliefs and values. We are distinctive and exceptional because of our past generations. Diversity is the encompassing of others and their lifestyles and meshing together as life carries on.”

With all three people, family and how they were raised seems to be a defining factor. All three, regardless of age, are all family – oriented. I feel I am close to my immediate family but feel rather disconnected from the others since we are all so far away. This all seems to be fitting into our readings and assignments.

My Family Culture

My Family Culture

The three things I would take would be:

1.       Family photo album

2.       My son’s favorite stuffed animal from his baby days

3.       My daughter’s favorite stuffed animal from kindergarten.

The family photo album contains photos from my grandma to my children and this would bring me comfort having the pictures to remember member s of my family and the memories. It would be a reminder of what our family structure was and could continue to be.  The reasoning for the stuffed animals that belonged to my children is the emotional attachment they represent. When I see these animals to this day, it reminds me of when they were small and how fast the time has gone. Both of them tell me that if there is a tornado or severe storm, I am supposed to grab those animals and save them!

If I had to give up any of these three items, it would be devastating. I would hang up on to the photo album because there are several pictures of the kids with their animals so we would have those to look at. I would try so hard to explain why those animals mean so much to me and to my children and how they represent their childhood and memories to me.

I know this situation happens. It happened a few weeks ago in the Colorado wild fires. It happens to people every day that are coming or leaving this country. I cannot imagine the agony that people feel when faced with this situation. It makes me understand how families feel when they arrive with nothing and are starting all over again. I saw this in a family a few years ago who came to our school. A simple doll represented so much to this little girl because she had no other toys while everyone else would bring Disney Princess dolls or other kinds of dolls that were expensive. She was so proud of that doll and the fact she had a toy to share.