Monday, June 17, 2013

Building Up Power

My Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression


My Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

I have experienced bias particularly when I have been in groups with people and I have ideas for a project that totally get ignored.  For instance, I remember, having to work on with a group of students to read a book in junior high on the novel, A Christmas Carol. The school did not have enough funding for everyone to have a class set of the novel, so it was up to us to share as copy as a group of three.  I distinctly remember the other to girls who I had to work with were purposely not letting me see novel while were reading it during class.  I had asked nicely to please put the novel in the middle desk between us that way three of us could see it.  However the girls just put the novel in between the two of them.  Now, I do not know what caused these two girls to do this, but it definitely put me in a situation where I became a much more introverted person in my junior high and high school years.   When I was younger I was a much more extraverted child and loved singing, dancing, and acting.  My mother will even tell you that I changed from being that girl who love saying, “I will only sing for big crowds.”  to a child who has not sung a solo for the families at holidays or even a solo at church  in over fifteen years.  This specific bias diminished equity in myself because anytime group projects came up I did not really want to provide my opinion anymore simply because I did not feel important enough to stand up for myself.  I think there is a part of me is finally realizing at thirty years old that I have to begin putting a little more confidence in myself and take action for some balance of power to begin in my life with peers.  To me, if you see something unfair happening to someone you must stand up for yourself or the person it is happening to.





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