Blog #9 - Open Blog; No guilt, No blame, Just reality

Emotions rise as we talk about our differences and perceptions of each other. Even if we are of the same race, emotional reactions tend to surface . . . its human nature and should be accepted and respected. I tried my best to see if my group could get another topic when we presented Race and Ethnicity due to the fact that it is such a highly charged topic in this country. Trying to be sensitive to other people views when dealing with this topic was a difficult task in itself; especially when there are those who are still plagued with ignorance about other cultures and have never exposed themselves to the world or even have the desire to do so. I am glad that this class brings up topics that make us uncomfortable and hope that it opens our eyes and hearts to true acceptance of one another. Who better to make uncomfortable than a group of educators? I recently read an article that I am going to try to attach to this blog, which addresses how a group of educators took an online diverse learner’s class and how emotion rose in the discussion boards. What was truly interesting to me was how comments were made more freely online; that I believe would not have been said in person. I look forward to the day when we are just as open face to face.

Acceptance is something that many of us, in my opinion, lack as a group of educated people. What I mean by that is one of the questions that we received, which was not addressed, was why African/Black Americans don’t just get over what happened so many generations ago. Well, I found this offensive because it is just like saying ‘Jewish people should just get over the holocaust’. Or imagine someone very close to you died. You are hurt, because of the loss, in time the wound would heal of that person no longer being there, but you never forget the hurt of losing them. An injustice was served to a group of undeserving people and was legally justified for generations. Forgiveness is inevitable, but to forget is to forget the ones who were sacrificed, sometimes for sport, for the freedom of those who live today. In other words the generations of torture and injustice will take generations to overcome and heal.

Respecting each other’s points of view is the first step of harmony. The next step is a little bit more difficult for most of us to do. That is putting ourselves in the other shoes, a task that many of us refuse to do. We may question why all day long, but when it comes down to it we won’t trade places with a race that has been discriminated on for nothing in the world. This makes me question human nature all together; we say we want to understand to be more sensitive to those who are oppressed. So why not take the time to get into the thick of the situation to understand it all the more. One of my favorite movies is ‘A Gentleman’s Agreement’. When the fiancé of Skylar Green realizes why he is so passionate about the injustice of the Jewish community, due to the fact that he lived in it as an undercover reporter, a light goes on in her head as to her own prejudice that she didn’t realize she even possessed herself. Then and only then could she address her own issues of trying to take on the responsibility of trying to change herself then try to change the world in which she lived in.

I couldn't attach the article but it is entitled "Engaging with issues of cultural diversity and discrimination through critical emotional reflexivity in online learning". It was written in 2008 in Adult Education Quarterly volume 59 number 1.