Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions




How come you speak English so well? You must have gone to a very good school? You definitely don’t sound like a Nigerian? You are quiet and well-mannered unlike most Nigerians I know. These were the many question and observation that filled my 6 weeks among young African leaders and Americans in West Virginia some years back.
Micro aggression maybe subtle and unintended but it always leaves the victim feeling marginalized. Then I wandered why so many questions around my speaking English. Our official language is English why must I have to go to a good school to communicate in our official language? Nigerians are smart, intelligent, outspoken and we don’t live in the jungle, why is that termed as loud and unruly?
According to Dr. Rue in the Video segment people’s remarks or behaviors can create feelings of uncertainty, inferiority, marginalization, and/or unsettling emotions in others even though they are unintentional (Laureate Education 2011). Many times, like my own experience people have good intentions, they are just curious to find out more about the situation however that didn’t stop my feelings of emotions when I was asked those questions.
This week as I learnt so much about micro aggression, I realized that several times I have also made micro aggressive comments unintentionally. This week I have been deliberate in the choose of my words and I have learnt the following: Discrimination leaves the same feeling with the victim whether it is unintentional or not, you need to understand diversity to communicate effectively, no experiences are the same, try to understand them but don’t compare the situations most especially that my good intended words don’t have hidden messages.
Reference:

Laureate Education (Producer). (2011). Microaggressions in everyday life [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu




Comments

  1. mtchildrennfamilies@wordpress.com30 September 2018 at 08:11

    Hello there,
    I totally agree we have to learn and understand to not make assumptions when it comes to diversity or culture. The only way you will ever know a person is if you actually sit down and get to know them. We are so use to assuming things about people when we really don't know. I agree I think I have made some unintentional microaggression towards some people before. Now that I have took this class I have to remember to not judge or make assumptions about our children and families because some people may not look how they are actually feeling and that is a true statement.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Unknown30 September 2018 at 10:19

    Hi Anu!

    Your explanation of unintended microaggressions is spot on. Much of the time we are trying to get to know a person, but the wording we choose to ask questions gets in the way and we can end up marginalizing a person that we truly respect. Choosing the words we use carefully can be difficult, but I agree with you that the knowledge we have gained in this course is helpful to end subtle discrimination.

    Bri Wolfe

    ReplyDelete
  3. Christine30 September 2018 at 11:19

    Hi! Great blog post. I noticed the same thing about myself and the microaggressions that I make towards other people. Every time I opened my mouth to say something this week, I stopped and thought about the words that were going to be coming out of my mouth and if they would intentionally or unintentionally hurt someone.

    Christine Ingenbrandt

    ReplyDelete
  4. Shakira30 September 2018 at 15:38

    Hi Anu,
    I think I mentioned this story before, but when I first went to Canada, I was met with some unruly questions that I could not bare. Do people in Barbados live in huts, do we wear clothes, etc. Like you, although you feel frustrated as a victim, we still display these same behaviors unintentionally. I have been subjected to what I think are silly, racist and rude questions, although I either answer or ignore them while feeling frustrated I cannot help when placing a stereotype on a particular race.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Naire.m30 September 2018 at 22:11

    Thank you for sharing your story and enjoyed reading your blog!

    ReplyDelete

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