Practicing Awareness of Micro-aggression
According to Dr. Sue (Laureate Education, 2011) micro-aggression is a verbal behavior towards race, gender, sexual orientation as well as disabilities. This example of micro-aggression was witnessed in my native island while on vacation. It was a day of cricket, a Sunday sport when most villagers would come out to support their home team.
This was what was spoken to an eldely disabled woman:
“Why don’t you put your walker at the back instead of in front of me? I cannot see the game. Here is not the place for you; you should stay home.” Those were the words of a young male to a disabled woman who placed her walker on the side of her to get quick access in case she had to move quickly.
The behavior of the young man was rude, demeaning and disrespectful in my opinion. At the time I did not have knowledge about micro-aggression so I just looked at it as disrespecting the elderly. As I reflected on micro-aggression, the behavior of the young man showed verbal abuse, gender abuse, stereotype as well as disrespect for the elderly and the disabled. The message was insulting, and demeaning and I felt disappointed when I heard the way that elderly woman was addressed.
Who say once you are disabled you should isolate yourself? The hidden message from the young man to the elderly disabled woman was, “You do not belong here, because you are helpless. According to Ford (n. d), this must change!
The behavior of the young man made me think of my own behavior towards others. Is that the way I would like to be treated? Is that the way I would like my parents to be treated? Demeaning words can be very powerful and can hurt deeply. For the rest of the day I believe that woman was carrying the stigma of disabled people who are often times robbed of individuality and debilitate their attempts to break out of stereotypical roles (Southern Poverty Law Center, n. d). It is important to note that people with disabilities should be afforded the same opportunities like any other in society.
References
Ford, R. (n. d). It's not just about Racism- Bur Ableism. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.waldenulibrary.org/ehost/detail?sid=b64c65fd-8e72-437b-b802-cf6...
Laureate Education (2011). “Microaggressions in Everyday Life”. In this program, Dr. Derald Wing Sue presents a lecture about the concept of microaggression in everyday life.
Teaching tolerance. Test yourself for hidden bias. Retrieved from http://www.tolerance.org/activity/test-yourself-hidden-bias
Hello Theresa,
ReplyDeleteWow, it was very shocking to read how the man disrespected the disabled woman in public. He did not care that he hurted the disabled woman feelings. This week assignments has opened my eyes because I did not knew that microaggressions even existed. I am going to use my words careful because the wrong usage of words can hurt people feelings.
Theresa,
ReplyDeleteI personally believe that eventually we all face with some kind of a disability if we live long enough. But at the young and strong age people do not take a moment to think about these. They think it is funny to pick on the elderly. It is sad and moraly wrong to begin with even before we think about the microaggression.
Thank you for sharing.