Practicing Awareness of Microaggressions

My boss at work just returned this week from his 2 week destination wedding/honeymoon in Hawaii. Upon his returning he mentioned to us that he would need t leave early the following day to attend a Rosh Hashanah celebration with his new wife. I then asked if his new wife was Jewish which he said yes. I let him know that I worked with a Jewish organization for 8 years and was familiar with a lot of the holidays and traditions and if he wanted to impress his new wife by having a background of the upcoming holiday i'd be happy to give him so information. Te following day let him know of what hebrew saying he could tell his wife to wish her  happy new year. The group joke and mocked the phrasing a little and I didn't really think much of it. After view this week's video on microaggression I realized that if someone in our general area actually was Jewish as well that could of been very hurtful to them. This week's video has definitely made me more aware of the things I say and do and how they could affect the feelings of others. 

Perspectives on Diversity and Culture

Responses from 3 different people

Culture= The practices that you follow based on influences from family and friends

Diversity= The differences people have with each other

Culture= The ethic and historical background of your family

Diversity= the ways in which people stand out from their surroundings

Culture= Is defined by the way we dress, the foods we eat, and the practices we engage in

Diversity= The qualities about someone that make them unique and an individual

Which aspects of culture and diversity that I have studied in this course are included in the answers I received—and what are some examples?

I agree with all the answers I received. I don't think they are all complete but I do think they are all components of culture and diversity.

I think interaction with with others and how to deal with different cultures and diversity would of been nice to hear about as well. 

It is always nice to listen to other perspectives from different people of different cultures on their ideas of culture and diversity, it is nice to be able to compare them with your own and decide how you feel about them in comparison.

Blog Assignment: My Family Culture

Imagine the following:
A major catastrophe has almost completely devastated the infrastructure of your country. The emergency government has decided that the surviving citizens will be best served if they are evacuated to other countries willing to take refugees. You and your immediate family are among the survivors of this catastrophic event. However, you have absolutely no input into the final destination or in any other evacuation details. You are told that your host country’s culture is completely different from your own, and that you might have to stay there permanently. You are further told that, in addition to one change of clothes, you can only take 3 small items with you. You decide to take three items that you hold dear and that represent your family culture.
Blog about all of the following:

• A description of the three items you would choose

family picture
blanket
cell phone/charger

• How you would explain to others what each of these items means to you

Each of these items are very important to me.  I would take would be a family picture so I have a memory of all loved ones who were unable to come with me, my blanket that I've had since a child because it's soothing and comforting to me, and my cell phone/charger so i have access to videos and voices of my friends and family

• Your feelings if, upon arrival, you were told that you could only keep one personal item and have to give up the other two items you brought with you

I would be devastated. I don't know how I could choose between the 3 items, I guess if i had to my cell phone because it could capture all of them.

• Any insights you gained about yourself, your family culture, diversity, and/or cultural differences in general, as a result of this exercise,

Well I have realized that modern technology is very important to me. There's a catastrophe event and my cell phone is one of my top priorities. As an experiment for myself I am going to try and see if I can go one whole day with out my cell phone.