Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

This week I had the opportunity to watch an informative program on PBS entitled Homeland: Immigration in America (Refugees). This documentary highlighted the experiences of several refugee immigrants in the United States. During the program I witnessed several forms of microaggression as the immigrants tried to assimilate to the dominant culture in the United States.

 One of the immigrants was an Asian woman who spoke no English but desperately needed a job. Fortunately, there was a group of individuals from the same country who translated for her and helped her apply for a job. When she went on her job interview the translator was present to interpret the conversation between her and a white male. At the end of the interview, the white male said to the translator, "Does she know that she got the job?" The translator told the white male that she understood. The white male replied, "Well, she doesn't act like she understands she got the job." This statement was a microaggression because the white male assumed the Asian woman had no idea what was going on because she did not express any emotion. He expected her to react in a way that many Americans would (with excitement). He completely disregarded her culture, and as a result misjudged her knowledge of the situation. He also implied that she was not mentally capable of making sense out of the situation because she did not speak English even though the translator was communicating between the two of them successfully. As I was observing this microaggression, I empathized with the woman because I know what it feels like to have to conform to the dominant culture in order to fit in. You feel as if you cannot truly be yourself when you are around individuals that are a part of the dominant culture because you will be judged negatively. It seems that you have to lose your identity in order to survive.

Throughout the program, I witnessed the immigrants become victims of discriminatory behaviors. As a result, they began to isolate themselves from the outside world. Many of the immigrants stay in the house to avoid discrimination and violence. Discrimination and prejudice leads to isolation and despair. Many of the immigrants do not socialize with others and are not adjusting well to their new country. In the same way, the residents are not adjusting well to the number of immigrants moving into their neighborhood. Because of the prejudice, there is no sense of community and neither group has the opportunity to benefit from each other's knowledge and experiences. Working together is the only way we can all experience social justice.

I encourage you all to watch this program as well as future episodes on PBS. For more information please visit http://www.pbs.org/programs/homeland-immigration-america/