I read an article this week which seemed to be an example of microaggression. A woman in Michigan is suing the Dearborn Heights police department for forcing her to remove her headscarf for a mugshot photo for a traffic misdemeanor. Although she informed the officer that removing her headscarf was against her religious beliefs, he told her that there were no exceptions. His supervisor also insisted that the headscarf be removed. She asked if a female officer could take the photo so as not to violate the demands of her religion, but the request was denied. The officers instead threatened a longer detention is she did not comply immediately.
Now, had this woman been arrested for making terroristic threats, attempting to murder someone, or some other violent offense, I could understand the urgency the officers would have felt about insuring that a weapon was not concealed on her person. It wouldn't negate her religious rights, but it would provide a legitimate reason for the police to insist on immediate compliance. But this woman was arrested for a minor traffic offense. She posed no credible immediate risk. There is no reason why she couldn't have been secured until a female officer could be brought in to take the mugshot. The actions of these male officers showed either an ignorance about her religious faith or a complete disregard of it. Either way, this woman was a victim of microaggression.
I am a supporter of the police. There are many fine men and women that risk their lives on a daily basis to serve and protect the people of this nation. Officers who behave in this way are not representative of all police officers. The ones who act like these officers did make me angry and sad. I am angry at the injustices people have had to endure, and sad that situations such as these occur so frequently.
Hellerstein, E. (2015) Woman sues Michigan police department for forced Hijab removal. Think Progress. Retrieved from: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2015/01/25/3615195/woman-sues-michigan-police-department-forced-hijab-removal/
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Perspectives on Culture and Diversity
This week, I was to ask friends for their perspectives on culture and diversity. So I do not misquote, I will cut and paste their responses:
First was a friend from high school, Carolyn (same race, gender, age as myself. Carolyn is in a wheelchair due to a genetic condition, which manifested after graduation):
culture...the beliefs of any particular group, diversity...a variety of cultures.
Debbie, a co-worker who is the same race and gender, but a bit older then myself:
Culture is something learned by participating in family or environmental day to day activities. It varies in degree from one individual to another depending on how immersed they are in the particular culture. It includes language, foods, music, fashion, religion, holiday customs, etc. Diversity is the existence of multiple cultures existing side by side, tolerating and eventually accepting each other's cultures.
Karen, a former preschool parent--same gender and race, several years older than myself, adoptive mother of two Russian children:
Culture is a system of beliefs and traditions shared among a group of people or family. To me, diversity means a peaceful blending of people from different cultures or ethnic backgrounds who live/work in proximity to one another. It does not mean affirmative action or forced quotas to prove that there is equal distribution of cultures/ethnic backgrounds in a workplace or geographic region.
Sheryl, another friend from high school--same race, gender, age:
To me culture is the arts it's a sharing of experiences and traditions. I agree diversity is a peaceful blending of people from different ethnic and cultural heritages. Where I work many languages are spoken. There are many religious differences in the employees and we all work together with respect and harmony.
Lastly, Ron, a friend (and former boyfriend) from high school--same age and race, has lived in Europe for over 10 years:
I'm not so sure about culture, but I'm pretty sure diversity is defined as blonde, brunette & redhead.
Then, he realized that this was part of an assignment and offered the following:
I guess people are trying to be helpful to you and my smarta** response was out of place. But I thought that I should try to keep up my image.
Anyway, I've been sitting here thinking about what I think culture is. I think it is a little different in the U.S. than in the rest of the world. Every country that I've been to has had its own culture, which I define as the traditions and way of life that they all share. And because they have been living them for generations they are embedded into everything that they do. Most of the time it is religious based and therefore driven deeply into their soul and does not change very quickly.
Now since the U.S. is s melting pot, the culture there is more of a chaotic nature. Take for example the towns along the Lackawanna River that were originally populated by immigrants from different countries. They all tried to maintain the cultures of the places their families came from, but over time these have all bended together to form a unique culture of the valley. As a result, I think that over time the original cultures that they are attempting to preserve have lost their meaning.
Diversity is a tougher one to define for me. The problem is I think diversity is a product of the political correctness mentality. It has become sort of a utopian idea where we should embrace people's differences and uniqueness. But the problem is "cultures" have instilled in us a sense of us and them and I think this has led to people not wanting to accept diversity. Just take the Muslim religion for example. To us they are one culture dominated by their religion. But to thiem they see a Sunni and Shiite division that is unacceptable. Heck the same can be said here in Europe when the Protestants split off them the Catholics. The both worshipped the same God and yet they fought have each other over the centuries, right up to the trouble in Ireland a few decades ago. My point is everyone who is responding to your post with a feel good definition about diversity is full of it. People deep down do not see diversity as a good thing. It is what is causing most of the fighting in the world. Sure we should accept the different thoughts, beliefs and ideologies of people, but in the end we see them as foreign and something that is a threat to our group's culture.
Now that I have written all of this down I guess I can give you my personal definitions:
Culture = my way of life Diversity = everyone else's way of life
In reading these responses, I realize that most people view culture as surface culture, and don't really think about the deep culture that truly makes up one's personal identity. language, holidays, foods, etc--these are the things most people think about when thinking about culture.
Among my friends, there was a division of thoughts as to diversity. While the women tended to view it as different people from different backgrounds peacefully coexisting, Ron offered a different point of view: diversity is the thing that drives a wedge in between people and causes problems. I like the way he summed it up:
Culture= my way of life; diversity= everyone else's way of life. This is quite simplistic, but actually pretty true.
I agree that people's differences can and do cause problems and fuel fighting worldwide. I am optimistic enough to hope that we, as a planet, can become more educated, more tolerant, more accepting, and peacefully get along.
First was a friend from high school, Carolyn (same race, gender, age as myself. Carolyn is in a wheelchair due to a genetic condition, which manifested after graduation):
culture...the beliefs of any particular group, diversity...a variety of cultures.
Debbie, a co-worker who is the same race and gender, but a bit older then myself:
Culture is something learned by participating in family or environmental day to day activities. It varies in degree from one individual to another depending on how immersed they are in the particular culture. It includes language, foods, music, fashion, religion, holiday customs, etc. Diversity is the existence of multiple cultures existing side by side, tolerating and eventually accepting each other's cultures.
Karen, a former preschool parent--same gender and race, several years older than myself, adoptive mother of two Russian children:
Culture is a system of beliefs and traditions shared among a group of people or family. To me, diversity means a peaceful blending of people from different cultures or ethnic backgrounds who live/work in proximity to one another. It does not mean affirmative action or forced quotas to prove that there is equal distribution of cultures/ethnic backgrounds in a workplace or geographic region.
Sheryl, another friend from high school--same race, gender, age:
To me culture is the arts it's a sharing of experiences and traditions. I agree diversity is a peaceful blending of people from different ethnic and cultural heritages. Where I work many languages are spoken. There are many religious differences in the employees and we all work together with respect and harmony.
Lastly, Ron, a friend (and former boyfriend) from high school--same age and race, has lived in Europe for over 10 years:
I'm not so sure about culture, but I'm pretty sure diversity is defined as blonde, brunette & redhead.
Then, he realized that this was part of an assignment and offered the following:
I guess people are trying to be helpful to you and my smarta** response was out of place. But I thought that I should try to keep up my image.
Anyway, I've been sitting here thinking about what I think culture is. I think it is a little different in the U.S. than in the rest of the world. Every country that I've been to has had its own culture, which I define as the traditions and way of life that they all share. And because they have been living them for generations they are embedded into everything that they do. Most of the time it is religious based and therefore driven deeply into their soul and does not change very quickly.
Now since the U.S. is s melting pot, the culture there is more of a chaotic nature. Take for example the towns along the Lackawanna River that were originally populated by immigrants from different countries. They all tried to maintain the cultures of the places their families came from, but over time these have all bended together to form a unique culture of the valley. As a result, I think that over time the original cultures that they are attempting to preserve have lost their meaning.
Diversity is a tougher one to define for me. The problem is I think diversity is a product of the political correctness mentality. It has become sort of a utopian idea where we should embrace people's differences and uniqueness. But the problem is "cultures" have instilled in us a sense of us and them and I think this has led to people not wanting to accept diversity. Just take the Muslim religion for example. To us they are one culture dominated by their religion. But to thiem they see a Sunni and Shiite division that is unacceptable. Heck the same can be said here in Europe when the Protestants split off them the Catholics. The both worshipped the same God and yet they fought have each other over the centuries, right up to the trouble in Ireland a few decades ago. My point is everyone who is responding to your post with a feel good definition about diversity is full of it. People deep down do not see diversity as a good thing. It is what is causing most of the fighting in the world. Sure we should accept the different thoughts, beliefs and ideologies of people, but in the end we see them as foreign and something that is a threat to our group's culture.
Now that I have written all of this down I guess I can give you my personal definitions:
Culture = my way of life Diversity = everyone else's way of life
In reading these responses, I realize that most people view culture as surface culture, and don't really think about the deep culture that truly makes up one's personal identity. language, holidays, foods, etc--these are the things most people think about when thinking about culture.
Among my friends, there was a division of thoughts as to diversity. While the women tended to view it as different people from different backgrounds peacefully coexisting, Ron offered a different point of view: diversity is the thing that drives a wedge in between people and causes problems. I like the way he summed it up:
Culture= my way of life; diversity= everyone else's way of life. This is quite simplistic, but actually pretty true.
I agree that people's differences can and do cause problems and fuel fighting worldwide. I am optimistic enough to hope that we, as a planet, can become more educated, more tolerant, more accepting, and peacefully get along.
Saturday, January 17, 2015
My Family Culture
New class--new blogs!
For this week, I am to imagine that the infrastructure of my country has collapsed, and that I, along with my family, can evacuate to another country. I have no control over where we are going and it is possible that we would never return home. We are allowed to take 3 personal items with us, along with a change of clothes.
1. My cell phone. Since I do not know where I am going, I do not know if I am going to be able to use it for calls, but I have contact info, photographs, and medical history stored in it. If we do have the ability to make calls, it would be vital to have my phone with me.
2. First aid kit with medications. Accidents happen, and it is best to be prepared.
3. Strong box. In it I have birth certificates, passports, marriage certificate--basically the proof that me and my family are who we say we are. These items may be needed in the future.
As you can tell by my list, material possessions aren't that important to me. I am more practical-minded. As long as I had my family with me, then I would have everything I needed.
I am supposed to imagine that, upon arrival, I can only keep one of the three possessions. Logically, I would stick the phone and first aid kit IN the strong box--then it's only one item! If that were not allowed, I would use my phone to take photographs of the documents in the strong box, as well as the labels on the prescription bottles. That way I would have all the necessary information available to me.
I am first and foremost a mom. It is my number one job to take care of and protect my family. Faced with this type of situation, I would choose practicality over sentimentality.
For this week, I am to imagine that the infrastructure of my country has collapsed, and that I, along with my family, can evacuate to another country. I have no control over where we are going and it is possible that we would never return home. We are allowed to take 3 personal items with us, along with a change of clothes.
1. My cell phone. Since I do not know where I am going, I do not know if I am going to be able to use it for calls, but I have contact info, photographs, and medical history stored in it. If we do have the ability to make calls, it would be vital to have my phone with me.
2. First aid kit with medications. Accidents happen, and it is best to be prepared.
3. Strong box. In it I have birth certificates, passports, marriage certificate--basically the proof that me and my family are who we say we are. These items may be needed in the future.
As you can tell by my list, material possessions aren't that important to me. I am more practical-minded. As long as I had my family with me, then I would have everything I needed.
I am supposed to imagine that, upon arrival, I can only keep one of the three possessions. Logically, I would stick the phone and first aid kit IN the strong box--then it's only one item! If that were not allowed, I would use my phone to take photographs of the documents in the strong box, as well as the labels on the prescription bottles. That way I would have all the necessary information available to me.
I am first and foremost a mom. It is my number one job to take care of and protect my family. Faced with this type of situation, I would choose practicality over sentimentality.
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