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Instances of Personal and Institutional Discrimination Melissa L. LaffertyWayne State University School of Social WorkDiversity, Oppression, and Social JusticeInstances of Personal and Institutional Discrimination The University of Montana School of Social Work’s Dictionary of Social Work defines discrimination as, “The practice of treating people differently and negatively based on a difference such as gender, age, religion, political orientation, sexual orientation, or ability” (Garthwait, 2012, p. 19). Almost every individual undergoes an incident in his or her life in which he or she is both the victim of discrimination and perpetrator of discrimination. Additionally, many institutions or agencies discriminate against clients. During my lifetime, I have undergone prejudice and discrimination and discriminated against others. Furthermore, institutional discrimination often occurs in areas of social work practice. Instance of Personal Discrimination ???????????????During my last two years of high school, I faced discrimination from students and teachers because of my autoimmune disorder. During my freshman and sophomore years of high school, I was ranked in the top 5% of my class and took my schoolwork very seriously. During my junior year in 2009, however, I began experiencing symptoms of chronic fatigue and pain, so I missed many days of school. In early 2010, I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, a syndrome in which an individual experiences long-term widespread pain and tenderness in the joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues (National Library of Medicine, 2012). Fibromyalgia is also linked to fatigue, sleep problems, headaches, depression, and anxiety; and I experience each of these symptoms frequently. Instead of receiving help and support from my peers and instructors, many of them began to bully me and thought that my disability was a joke. Many people actually laughed at my absence from school and told me “I deserve to fail.” One student who I had in my symphonic band and advanced placement literature class called me a “dumbass for missing school” and said that she hoped that I was failing all of my classes. In addition, when I made Wind Ensemble, my high school’s highest band that only accepts about 30 out of 200+ band students, students complained to my band instructor and said that I did not deserve to be in it simply because of my absence from rehearsal. My band instructor, however, assured me that he sympathized with my condition and I deserved to be in the highest band, as I was a very talented clarinet player. The instructors that I had during the second semester of my junior year were much more helpful and sympathetic to my condition than the teachers that I had during my senior year. The counselor that I had during my junior year was very helpful in making accommodations for me and allowed me to choose my course schedule and instructors. My teachers gave me take-home tests when needed, and I received credit instead of a letter grade for two courses, so my grade point average did not suffer. The counselor that I had during my senior year, however, was brand new and not very helpful. Additionally, I had many instructors that treated me poorly and did not make any accommodations for me, and I was unable to drop many courses. One instructor gave me failing grades on almost all of my papers, which I felt were very well written. Writing is one of my strongest talents, and I received an “A” in AP Literature and Composition during my junior year. Additionally, this instructor would not let me make up any missed exams or assignments; however, I was able to drop this course during the middle of the semester. I was able to maintain all “A”s during the first semester of my senior year, but I became very irritated and depressed during my second semester, as I had instructors who refused to make accommodations for me. During my last semester of high school, I had decided to take a newspaper class, as I love to write and figured that I would not need many accommodations made. The teacher, however, would actually make fun of me and give me poor grades on well-written articles. Additionally, she did not put any of my articles in the monthly newspapers, and I was one of the best writers in the class. My mother tried emailing and talking to her at parent-teacher conferences about my condition, but my mother told me that the teacher simply “blew her off”. I was more understanding of students treating me badly because I knew how immature and naive high school students could be, but instructors should never bully or discriminate against their students for any reason. Students did not bully me as much during my senior year because they were used to my absence from school, but occasionally some students would tell me that I was going to lose my academic scholarship to Wayne State University, and I was voted my class’ “Absent Abby”. Once I began college, I did not have any problems with discrimination and was able to maintain an “A” average, as I could accommodate my course schedule to my time preferences and take many online courses. I think that I have become emotionally stronger and more empathetic towards others’ disabilities and differences since undergoing discrimination, and I want to use my social work degree to help others who undergo bullying and injustice. Additionally, I have been the perpetrator of prejudice. I am generally very empathetic and understanding to other people’s differences, so thinking of a time when I was the perpetrator of discrimination was very challenging. I asked some of my friends and family if they could think of a time when I discriminated against anyone, and most of them said no. My brother, however, reminded me of the time when I called one of his girlfriends a “boater”. Urban Dictionary defines a “boater” as, “A word used to describe an immigrant who exhibits a large amount of his/her ethnicity in public” (Petrovich, 2003). In my opinion, calling someone a “boater” is the equivalent of calling a white person a “honky”, as these words are both slang terms to represent a person’s race. Although I was not trying to offend my brother’s girlfriend, I did assume that she was an immigrant, which is a preconceived notion and form of prejudice. About four or five years ago, my brother was instant messaging his girlfriend, who was Albanian, on Facebook, and I typed “you boater” into the chat box as a joke. I would never make a remark like that to anyone now, as I understand how sensitive people can sometimes be, but at the time, I thought that I was being funny. This comment, however, greatly offended her, and she explained to me that her family was from America. I learned from this incident that I should be more sensitive towards others’ differences and my assumptions about others are not always correct, so I try very hard not to make assumptions or judge anyone based on his or her appearance. Instance of Institutional Discrimination Institutional discrimination often occurs in areas of social work practice. Institutional racism is the manifestation of racism in social systems and institutions (National Association of Social Workers, 2006). It is the combination of polices, practices, or procedures embedded in bureaucratic structure that systematically lead to unequal outcomes for groups of people (Barker, 2003; Brandt, 1991). Social hierarchy in society is often based on race, and thereby access to or denial of privileges, power, and wealth are also based on race (Smedley & Smedley, 2005). Throughout U.S. history, the concept of race was used to institutionalize the benefits of one group of people while denying benefits to other groups of people (Acuna, 1988; Smedley & Smedley, 2005). Although the concept of race is not biologically valid, society still looks at skin color and other physical traits to help “identify” a person’s race.Rather than questioning or challenging inequality, many Americans accept inequality as a social norm. “These power-assigning social structures in the form of institutional racism affect the life opportunities, life-styles, and quality of life for all Americans. They compound, exaggerate, and distort biological and behavioral differences and reinforce misconceptions, myths, and distortions on the part of both groups about one another” (Pinderhughes, 1989, p. 71). In the United States, the ethnocentric focus is still primarily a white, Anglo-Saxon protestant orientation, so institutional racism continues to occur. There are many examples of institutional racism throughout U.S. history, including exclusions from unions, organizations, social clubs, seniority systems (last hired, first fired), income differentials, inferior municipal services, and differential education (Kivel, 1995). In each of these situations, people of color experience disadvantages that flow from one generation to another in reference to income, decision-making, health status, knowledge and skill development, and quality of life (National Association of Social Workers, 2006). Social structures maintained by individuals, including social workers, often solidify institutional racism. Social workers do not intend to do harm, and many are oblivious to the fact that they have harmed someone. Individuals who maintain social structure are often unaware that they exhibit subtle forms of racism (National Association of Social Workers, 2006). Three subtle types of racism that contribute to institutional racism include symbolic racism, aversive racism, and micro-inequities (National Association of Social Workers, 2006). Symbolic racism is expressed by those who may or may not perceive themselves as racist but justify their negative judgments of others by asserting that others do not abide by traditional values of the dominant group. People can perceive themselves as being fair and practicing equality by holding forth certain values, such as “individualism”, “work ethic”, or “self-reliance”, but act negatively to people of other races who may not share the same values (Durrheim & Dixon, 2004). Social workers who engage in aversive racism do not see themselves as racist, but they will discriminate against others, sometimes unintentionally, or avoid people without overt racist intent. These social workers believe that they are fair and treat others as equals and justly, but because they have been exposed to the societal racism in the United States, they will reflect it in their conduct (Durrheim & Dixon, 2004; Tatum, 1997). Micro-aggressions or micro-inequities occur when a good person affects another in a negative or poor manner. Micro-inequities are the comments, word assignments, tone of voice, and failure of acknowledgement in meetings or social gatherings. They are subtle indicators of lack of respect by virtue of membership in a group (Rowe, 1990). In addition to these three subtle types of racism, Caucasian social workers may need to acknowledge white privilege, and non-white social workers need to recognize any internalized racism. White privilege is the collection of benefits based on belonging to a group perceived to be white when the same or similar benefits are denied to members of other groups (National Association of Social Workers, 2006). White privilege is the benefit of access to resources and social rewards as well as power to shape the norms and values of society that white people receive, unconsciously or consciously, by virtue of their skin color (Kivel, 2002; Potapchuk et al., 2005). Internalized racism, however, is the development of ideas, beliefs, actions, and behaviors that support or collude with racism against oneself (National Association of Social Workers, 2006). Internalized racism supports the supremacy and dominance of the dominant group through participation in the set of attitudes, behaviors, social structures, and ideologies that undergird the dominating group’s power and privilege and limit the oppressed group’s own advantages (Potapchuk et al, 2005; Tatum, 1997).Individuals going into social work generally want to help people. The social work profession, however, and the systems that it uses is a part of American society in which policies, resources, and practices are designed to benefit some groups significantly more than others while denying the existence of racism (National Association of Social Workers, 2006). Subtle forms of racism continue to contribute to the problem of institutional racism, so as an individual, I will need to acknowledge and address these issues. As a white person, I must acknowledge white privilege so that I can better serve all people. Finally, as a social worker, I need to acknowledge the existence of institutional racism and try to avoid it from influencing any part of my social work practice. References Acuna, R. (1988). Occupied America: A history of Chicanos. New York: Harper & RowPublishers. Barker, R. L. (2003). The social work dictionary (5th ed.). Washington, DC: NASW Press.Barndt, J. (1991). Dismantling racism: The continuing challenge to white America.Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress.Durrheim, K. & Dixon, J. (2004). Attitudes in the fiber of everyday life: The discourse of racial evaluation and the lived experience of desegregation. American Psychologist, 59, 626–636.Garthwait, C. (2012, October). Dictionary of Social Work. The University of Montana School ?????????? of Social Work. Retrieved from ????????????.health.umt.edu/files/documents/SocialWorkDictionary_updated_2012_Oct23.pdf Kivel, P. (1995). Uprooting racism: How white people can work for racial justice. Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.Kivel, P. (2002). Uprooting racism: How white people can work for racial justice (rev. ed.). Gabriola Island, BC: New Society Publishers.National Association of Social Workers. (2006). Racism. In Social work speaks: National Association of Social Workers Policy Statements 2006–2009 (7th ed., pp. 305–315). Washington, DC: NASW Press.National Library of Medicine. (2012, February 2). Fibromyalgia [Definition]. A.D.A.M. ???????????? Medical Encyclopedia. Retrieved from ??????????? /PMH0001463/ Petrovich, A. (2003, December 15). Boater [Definition]. Urban Dictionary, 2. Retrieved from ???????????? Pinderhughes, E. (1989). Understanding race, ethnicity, and power: The key to efficacy in clinical practice. New York: Free Press.Potapchuk, M., Leiderman, S., Bivens, C.,& Major, B. (2005). Flipping the script: White privilege and community building. Conshohocken, PA: Center for Assessment and Policy Development.25Rowe, M. P. (1990). Barriers to equality: The power of subtle discrimination to maintain unequal opportunity. Employee Responsibilities and Rights Journal, 3(2), 153–163.Smedley, A., & Smedley, B. D. (2005). Race as biology is fiction, racism as a social problem is real. American Psychologist, 60, 16–26.Tatum, B. (1997). Why are all the black kids sitting together in the cafeteria? And otherconversations about race. New York: Basic Books. ................
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