Hero Homework #4

 Sticks and Stones

“Redskins.”

“Niggers.”

 “Nips,” “Krauts,” “Frogs,” “Gooks,” “Kikes,” “Towel-heads,” “Chinks, “Slopes,”  “Guidos,” “Mics,” “Spics,” “Dagos,” “Wops,” and “Pollacks.”

These are all pejorative ways to refer to some ethnic/racial group. Terms like these negatively caricaturize vast numbers of people, reducing them from unique, living-and-breathing human beings to cartoon stereotypes, based on a single characteristic they have in common --- a characteristic that none of them chose, and is beyond their control.

On a hot summer day, would you be as happy to drink a nice cup of sulphuric acid as you would a cup of water? Why not? They’re both “wet,” aren’t they?

To dehumanize someone, to treat them as an object, depriving them of their human qualities, individual personality, emotions, intelligence and spirit, is the first step on the road to oppression, torture and murder --- whether that’s lynchings, so-called “enhanced interrogation” (that is, torture), or genocide on a staggering scale.

Often, the dehumanization is very popular, like the current stereotyping of Muslims as “terrorists,” and the power of group conformity makes a trend like that difficult to resist.

But resistance is not futile.

Resistance is critical.

And so we come to this week’s workout for your hero muscles. It has two parts.

 Each day this week:

1. Write down what you find interesting and valuable about a different person each     

2. Write down something that you have in common with that person, some way in which you are alike.  

Select people as different from you as possible, ideally members of racial, ethnic, or religious groups other than your own.

The less acquainted you are with individuals of the maligned group, the easier it is to malign them.

The judgments you make about others depend not only on their behavior, but also on your interpretation of their actions within a social context. By taking a few minutes to acknowledge the unique qualities of an individual you can learn to see past stereotypes and develop appreciation for those who are different from you.  You will become aware that people who are very different from you, are still quite like you in some way(s). And this exercise will help you develop the capacity to see with your own eyes, and not through the eyes of your “group.”

aac

A few good links on group conformity:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYG0PH4BB6Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xKXbL1q0570

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPEDS-0jMgs