Micro-aggression and Me

          This week we are talking and thinking about micro-aggression.  This kind of aggression is when someone makes am assumption about the social constructs of another person or group of people.  This happened to me not long ago.  I was at the doctor’s office and upon weighing me the nurse commented “good you have lost some weight” I felt this was said with the assumption that I saw myself as overweight and needed to lose weight.  I know she was not meaning to hurt my feelings but I did have a pause at her comment.  In fact this upset me more than the assumptions about my being lesbian.  Perhaps it is because in the wider context my being lesbian is a more social paradigm and any comments about it are expected. Whereas the comment of the nurse was more personal and hit closer to home.  I know I am overweight and I also know I am in my sixties and older people tend to gain some weight in middle age.  I just found it annoying that day.  I have many things about me that can and have been used in micro-aggression.  I am blond, short, have a learning disability, am on the Autism Spectrum and have been a dancer (read airhead). 

         As far as noticing the micro-aggression in societal context I saw it on the television show Law and Order I was watching.  It was very clear who had the power in the detective team, the white male, who had assumptions about poor people and African Americans again the white male.  Even the African American half of the detective team was clearly marginalized when his ideas did not line up with the assumptions the white detective made about the case.   I see the objectifying of women every day in the media forms of television and on the Internet.   I hope I never cease to see these things because they keep me honest when I fall into that hole.  I do hope one day there will be enough awareness about this sort of thing that the social construct will have flipped and micro-aggression and any other form of aggression will have largely disappeared from society but until then I want to have it hit me in the face from time to time to make me take a look at my own assumptions about it. 

Have a good week. 

Peace and all good 

Thanks for dropping by  

Linda Krouse
Week 3
ED 6164


        This week we were asked to talk to three people about culture and diversity.  How do they define culture and diversity.  I asked my daughter who just graduated from college with a degree in Political Science.  She defines culture as "the shared experience of living."  and diversity is" having a different experience of living."

         In speaking with my friend  who has over thirty years of experience working with developmentally disabled people and family therapy she defines culture as a paradigm one experiences on a more individual level.  It is not always about race, gender or religion but has largely to do with how one was raised or the expectations someone has for others.  Diversity is the distinct qualities that set us apart from one another.

         As I think about culture and diversity myself I am seeing the deeper culture with in my own experience.  Experiences that I take for granted with out thinking about them.  How I greet my children or how I interact with my friends.  How I do both with people I don't know and people I work with. Of course on social media I have a plethora of diverse friends.  I have people who are on the autism spectrum.  I know people who are on some sort of spiritual journey.  I have authors or lesbian fiction and reads of same.  My own social behavior has gone through an evolution over the years.  When I was working with adults with autism I learned to model social behavior.  I began to say hello and how are you and stop and listen to what the response was.  Being on the spectrum myself I had a hard time looking people in the eye and speaking first.  My modes operands was to look down and nod as I passed.  But I had to learn this and it's been a good skill to have developed.  I still have to make myself do this now but it gets easier as time goes on.

       Culture and diversity is something I think about a great deal but doing the readings in this course has broadened my horizons.  I look forward to delving deeper into it as I continue teaching in early childhood education and becoming more socially active in my community.

Have a good week everyone. Thanks for dropping by

This week we are thinking about perspective and culture specifically cultures other than our own.  Here is the scenario that was given for us to think about and respond to:

Imagine the following:

A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture. 

1) A description of the three items you would choose

2) How you would explain to others what each of these items means to you

3) Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you

4) Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise,

I know this is a social experiment but lets look at things realistically.  September eleventh has just passed and I think of all the responders that ran to help that day in New York City.  

          This scenario is something that I actually have trained for on a local level with Civil Air Patrol and most likely I would not be one of the first to evacuate.  I would be helping other survivors or looking for survivors.  As a rescue worker I would be one of the last to leave the area when every one else is safe.  

           This brings up a second question.  If the infrastructure is completely destroyed how will anyone be able to move about or evacuate?  No air planes could land and roads would be impassible and the communications would be wiped out.  The closest water way are the Maumee and Auglaize rivers and they lead to Lake Erie.  So water route may be our best bet for transportation out of the area.  Since all communication is down how would the authorities get the word out to gather a departure points?  That is where CAP and other organizations would come in.  We would be going house to house looking for survivors and injured people.   In a pinch horses we could use horses to carry the survivors to the departure points for transport to Lake Erie and from there on to a bigger port along the East Coast.   If the lake freighters were not damaged they could be utilized to transport people and their belongings.  Food and water of course would be a great concern; how to find those things and how to get enough to everyone departing as well as those waiting back in their homes to be rescued and transported. 

         So after all the other people in the area it is time for the rescue teams and first responders to leave.   Time for me to decide what matters in my culture that I would want to take with me.  Well family matters so i would hope my flash drives survived and I could take pictures of my family. Several members of my family are also trained in rescue and emergency services so they most likely would be there beside me the whole time. Pictures have been the way we keep our memories alive and tell our story to others so that is why I would want to take pictures of my family. 

  Identity matters so I would want to take my passport with me. I am proud and grateful for America I am not always proud of how we as a nation have handled diversity but I am proud to have been born in this country.

 Lastly my four legged friends matter so I would take Winky my Chihuahua.  When I brought him home seven years ago I made  commitment to take care of him through thick and thin.  So I would not be leaving him behind.   

          In the event that I could only keep one of these things I would keep Winky.  As a living being he has priority and is a link with my past.  As long as I have memory and words I can share the story of my life orally and perhaps write it down in this new country I am a refugee in.   However unless I am stripped searched I would find a way to hide the flash drives so I could also keep them.  My passport I would hate to lose but if the United States is as bad as this scenario I most likely would not live long enough to be able to return.  I would hate to lose the connection with my home country but that would be something I could accept. Thinking realistically my feelings about all this would be either buried to be dealt with later after the crisis was over or would be so raw I would be in meltdown mode.  Considering the choices I have made about what to bring I believe my priorities are in order and I could accept the new normal in my life.  I have always been an adventurer and wondered what was over the next hill so I think life in a new country would be interesting and challenging.  

I know this scenario has played out in many ways for many people on the planet.  I hope it does not play out here in the U.S.  I do want to take this opportunity to encourage everyone to get trained in some form of emergency preparedness and to make a disaster plan for your family.  Tornadoes and floods do occur and there is a great deal of security in knowing what to do when they happen.    

Once again thanks for dropping by. 

Namaste