Microaggression is a new term that is discovered I was unaware of the word Microaggression with the help of this course reading and Dr. Derald Wing Sue presentation, I'm now aware of practices awareness of Microaggression. This Journey has challenged my way of thinking for me, my family connotation demeanor.
A challenge I faced in high school.
I remember riding my bike to go watch a football game nearby, as I was arriving I saw a friend of mine named Kyle. Kyle was African American and was about 6 feet tall compared to myself same ethnicities but height of 5 feet 10 inches. It so happened that we met up there at the same time. Kyle was a disturbed kid always having problems in school staying focused, and behavior issues. By all means, I was not a perfect but I rarely got in trouble, getting in trouble was not appealing to me. Long story short Kyle and I talked for a few minutes (at the football game) and we when our separated, hang out with our own friends. Meanwhile, a white woman noticed us talking for a few minutes, I didn't think anything of it because there are several people (adults and children) at the football game. No biggie on my part!
Approximately 30 minutes after arriving at the game, the same white woman was yelling something and was heading in my direction near the gate. I noticed Kyle ran right out of the front gate for some strange reason. Apparently, the white woman was calling the police, I didn't know this until she got closer to me near the front gate. The police (white male) arrived and the white woman shared with him, that someone took something from her purse; and pointed at me. What!! After I explained to the police pleading my case, the officer put my bike in his back of his vehicle put me in the backseat and take me home.
My experience in high school of microaggression was something I had to deal with on a day-to-day basis of accusing the wrong person. For example, you look like, you fit the description of, you're smarter than the average person of your race. I was unaware of the clashing of racial realities of unintentional and visible through natural causes. I can see how society misinterprets, deliberately, unintentionally us forms of microaggression to persuade others to think a certain way.
The part that I said say What! Early, the white women accuse me of being the wrong person. This wasn't the first time I been accused, I calmly share with both adult figures the height difference and my group of friends there at the game. The white one woman was persistent it was me, and the officer was in the catch-22 to her response compared to a child's reaction. The officer was cool about taking me home. I never been in it the backseat of a cop car, and have no plans of that experience again.
What're your thoughts about the situation or how can you handle the situation differently?
6 comments:
I am a very sensitive person and I believe I would have handled the situation in a whole different way. I honestly do not know what I would have done. Being accused of a crime I know I did not commit would be unbelievable. I believe you handled the situation in a great way but is sad that you were accused of something you did not do because of your ethnicity and who you were associating yourself with.
Wow, that is very bad and sad. How they think that a black male kid is always the center of any wrong doing. In most cases, it is always at the wrong place at the wrong time. Then yet it shouldn't have been the case. The police do not have evidence and proof they should not be pointing fingers.
Wow is all that I can think of to say because I have never personally experienced an incident that got me taken down to the police station simply because of the color of my skin. I am sorry that you experienced this. I have lived my life unscathed however I am the mother of two young African American sons that are challenged daily simply because of the color of their skin. This is the America that we now live in :-(
That is so said that you were accused of being someone else all the time. I can't imagine what you have gone throw in your high school years. I have to say that people can be so mean to other people. I have thought someone was someone else but I was not mean about it and I apologized to the person. I hope that it has gotten better for you now that you are older. Thank you for sharing this with all of us.
I guess there is really no other way to handle that situation, you can not help what people accuse you of or how they view you. I am glad the police officer took you home instead of the police station. Growing up in this constant changing but same world can be very challenging, that women reacted off a way she was taught to act and decided never to explore people for who they are and not by any race related guidelines. I love people of all culture backgrounds and I just hope that our children in today's world are taught to think on their on and not practice learned behavior. Great Post!
Thank you all for your support and comment
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