Guadalupe and I were friends for quite some time, we met
on the job. I was a security dispatcher and she with her husband cleaned the
building. As I was leaving work, she politely asked me, “Why do Black women
have large hips? I retorted, “Why do Hispanics have squinty eyes?” She just
looked at me and walked away, we never had that conversation again. I was
offended and did not feel bad for snapping back at her. Having large hips is no
more a Black thing than having squinty eyes is a Hispanic thing.
I was offended and really wanted to know why she would ask
me something like that; I felt at first that she was being sarcastic but now
after learning about microaggressions, I do not think her actions were
intentional. This week’s lesson opened my eyes to the many different ways people offend one another. Microaggression happens frequently and because it is unintentional it is either numbing-you get so use to it until you do not feel the pain of it anymore, or you become desensitized- you no longer recognize it when it happens or you address it with the understanding that the perpetrator may not be aware of the hidden message received by their words. As a result, from what I learned, I choose to be mindful of candid remarks and think about how certain remarks may be perceive by others before I speak, as best I can.
No comments:
Post a Comment