Practicing Awareness of Micro-aggressions

Micro-aggression is the ideas that interact between those that are from different culture, race, or gender. Micro-aggression can be intentional or unintentional towards people of color, people, and so forth. It is a verbal behavior that we use against other people with different background such as sexism racism, classism, and ableism. For example we are dealing with micro-aggression on a regular basis because the thought of interacting with someone from a different background disable us from communicating with no judgment. I have many experiences where people treat me different because I come from a different country. One experience I had is when I went into a store and I was not acknowledged as a valued customer because of two reasons, I was black and I did not dress with my best outfit. The message I get is that white people are more valued customers than back people and also I felt like I did not belong. As an immigrant in the United States I am always a target for micro-aggression because people do not like anything that is different from them. Therefore they behave in a manner that can show they have power over other people that are different from them.

This week course resources help me to a clear understanding of micro-aggression. Dr. Derald Wing Sue discuss five categories on micro-aggression such as social psychology factor associate with micro-aggression, condition needed to prevent micro-aggression, psychological dilemma associate with micro-aggressions, forms of micro-aggressions, and micro-aggression itself.  I learn that micro-assault is a verbal or nonverbal act that takes place to hurt someone else intentionally. In many cases people would make racial comment to target another race. My observation on micro-aggression makes me realize that it is very important to think before we act. For example when Dr. Derald Wing Sue discuss micro-aggressions are brief everyday indignities, it may be verbal behavior or environmental. For this reason I say majority of us are stereotyped against one background. We usually prejudge before we know the whole fact or story regarding an individual’s background.  As a result I learned that it is very important to keep an open mind when interacting with other people that are different from us.

Reference:

Laureate Education (2011) "Micro-aggressions in Everyday Life" (approximate length: 27 minutes) In this program, Dr. Derald Wing Sue presents a lecture about the concept of micro-aggression in everyday life.