Sunday, October 11, 2015

Microaggression or A Simple Joke?

Pak See Ip
ASA 2-A02
Blog 4
          In everyday life, almost everyone is subject to some form of discrimination based on the groups that one is categorized into. These groups may include characteristics such as gender, race, ethnicity, age, religion, or social class. However, college students, including me, may not realize the prevalence of the different types of discriminations in current society until after graduation, when we will have to work with others with diverse backgrounds. As Greg Lukianoff and Jonathan Haidt stated in their article, “The Coddling of the American Mind”, the overprotective college environment today may hinder young adults’ abilities to cope with discriminations that may happen in their future workplace. If young adults are not able to understand and deal with experiences that involve prejudice and discriminations, they may not be able to resolve other conflicts and issues with their colleagues or clients as well, because everyone holds their own biases and prejudice against some groups. This article reminded me of the recent shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer named Darren Wilson. If Michael Brown is not an African American, and Darren Wilson is not White American, would the case still receive the same amount of attention? What if both the police officer and the suspect are racial or ethnic minorities?
          Lukianoff and Haidt also mentioned that college students today are being overly sensitive toward topics related to stigmatized groups, but there are no clear criteria for one to decide whether a comment or remark is a form of discrimination, microaggression, or simply a joke. What are some ways that one can employ to differentiate between discrimination and a joke?
 

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