This week I went to a grocery store called "Farm Fresh" with my two year old son. While at the grocery store, I observed a woman with four children buying a shopping cart full of groceries. A person behind me made a comment saying "I bet she gets a lot of food stamps." My question to myself was, "Did you hear the children call her Mom? What if the children are her step children, or her nieces and nephews? "What if she was babysitting for a family?" Just because she had four children will her does not make her the mother or even on government assistance. When the lady paid for her groceries, she used a debit card to buy the basket full of groceries. The person behind me stated, "Uh must be a military family then." The ironic thing about the entire incident was the person who was behind me was the one using food stamps to buy her groceries.
When I think about the incident, it was sort of disrespectful to assume someone is on assistance because they have a lot of children. I felt embarrassed for the lady behind me, due to the fact that she was using food stamps herself. That's why as an individual, I do not judge people who needs government assistance because I once was on it. I am proud that I do not need to use it anymore because it shows the blessings that God has provided in my life. The woman who was in front of me smiled and walked off, which showed that she got the last laugh after all.
Based on my observation, the effects of stereotyping still exist, and in reality will never die. Stereotyping can ruin a person reputation, especially when you have no clue what a person is going through. Just because a person has a lot of children does not mean they are on government assistance or have a lot of fathers for each child. Assumptions is what hurt a lot of people emotionally because they feel like they are a target of peoples ignorance.
Ashley,
ReplyDeleteYou provided a great example of microaggression. It is so easy for people to judge others based on appearance or circumstances. Another related example where I often witness microaggression is making comments or assumptions based on which grocery store a person shops at. Where I live, it is assumed that many people on assistance shop at Walmart or Carnival Foods (a private-owned grocery store) because of their low prices. However, one of my family members is on assistance and prefers to shop at Meijer because of they have a higher quality of produce and meat. She is willing to forego some of the groceries that she wants in order to purchase higher quality goods. There have been other members of the family who have made comments about this family member because of her choice to shop the way she does. They believe that if she wants to have the higher quality "taste", then she needs to find a job to pay for it. Thanks for your post!
Tiffany