Implicit Bias and Microaggressions
- I felt when reading, “Trouble in mind: to be black is blue in America,” that IBe would have had a better time in America if he would’ve just stopped worrying so much. Every corner he turned, it sounds like, he thought he was being persecuted for being black. I doubt very much that every instance he thought he might be getting discriminated that he actually was being discriminated. I’d say it’s a lot like the voices in my head, every voice I hear is a person that I know or have seen, maybe in class, maybe in the dorms, etc. So, I used to walk around thinking I was the only one that didn’t know what was going on. “Did I not get that job because he heard what I said in my head?” Chances are very unlikely that he heard me say anything in my head and these people are just normal people. I understand some of what IBe saw could have been discrimination, but it also could have been a little bit of paranoia. He was in Saint cloud not too long ago because he was talking about President Obama. That leads me to believe that America was already changed when he got here. I really do believe that America has changed since Martin Luther King’s day and has gotten a lot better. Everybody has the same opportunities as anyone else does, black or white, male or female, gay or straight.
2. I think IBe meant that even if you’re not angry, the oppression will hurt you, get you depressed, confused, paranoid, and afraid. All of that is trouble in mind.
3. A time I witnessed a microaggression is when I said to my friend that women can’t drive. I meant it as a joke, but she got pretty angry at me. I can’t recall exactly what she said but I’m sure she was saying something about how women are on the rise and women do better than men in everything, and women are more intelligent than men. So, I resolved to not hit that button again.
4. I think it is very important to feel like you belong anywhere you are, including the classroom. If you are ostracized and put down, then you’re depressed and lonely, probably not doing very well in school because you don’t feel like being there. Whether it’s explicit bias or implicit bias, it hurts. On the flip side if I am feeling well and welcomed then I know that I want to be here, I know people like me for who I am and I know that I won’t get hurt or be lonely. All this will allow me to not have to worry about anything but school, in turn letting me succeed in what I am venturing to do, whatever that may be.
5. All the schools I was in were pretty diverse. I never thought about being white, it was never an issue. I don’t know if it’s a privilege anymore to be white. Meaning my race is no better than anyone else is. I had the same opportunities as any other kid in my school including my African American friends, and Mexican friends, and Native American friends and they had the same opportunities as me. We never had a racial discrimination problem in my schools that I could see.
6. I believe if we keep making a big deal out of race it will always be a problem. We’re blowing it up just like the George Floyd case. I don’t think that cop would have done any differently if George was white instead of black to be honest. I believe that police officer was just a violent jerk that shouldn’t have been on the force. I have been apart of diverse groups all my life and very seldom did anything racial happen, but when it did, it was out of ignorance and it was handled within the group or amongst ourselves where the problem originated. Talking about race in the classroom will only make the problem bigger than it is. The only talks we had in class about racism was in history class where it belongs. Because racism is history, I don’t see it in the future, I barely even see it now, maybe on the news, that’s about it. Every life matters.