Chester Pierce's Micro-Aggression

ii) Most people a similar to me, which is the dominant group that owns power.

Cubans have absolutely no problem sharing their feelings, thoughts, and ideas. They are known for being boisterous and not keeping anything to themselves. For example, when I have gone a long time without seeing a family member the first words out of their mouth are “oh my goodness! You have gained weight.” If anyone wants an honest opinion a Cuban is the right person to ask, they are very blunt and to the point. Although they are open to talk about anything to have a conversation, there are somethings that are considered taboo in discussion. A very touchy subject would be racism. In Cuba, they are still battling some issues with it. It is said that black Cubans do not get the same fair treatment as all the others. They are given the hardest and less remunerated jobs. Many Black Cubans complain that they are given a hard time in their jobs and get hassled the most by police when they are doing their jobs (New attitudes on once-taboo race questions emerge in Cuba, 2017).

Cuba’s government is a totalitarian-socialist regime from a communist state. Fidel Castro is Cuba’s leader by default, but many Cuban’s dislike Castro’s ruling and cannot wait till the end of Castro’s rein. Castro also has his own army, which help him keep everything in order in and around the country. Fidel’s army is also known for brutal attacks on its citizens. Cuba’s religion is 85% Roman Catholic and many take their religion seriously.

There are many domestic issues within Cuba, that is because we chose controversial countries that allowed for mass amounts of research. However issues such as human rights, brain drain, and censorship are the most prominent. First of all, human rights are constantly impeded in a repressive country like Cuba, especially the right of freedom of speech and expression. When Fidel Castro was in power, he denied people of their rights and if their opinions contrasted. This is still happening in today’s day and age where people are simply thrown in jail just for fighting for rights that should have been granted by the government. To make things worse, if the detainee later decided to stand up again to being treated wrongfully in their country, the

"No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main." As a part of the society, it is unavoidable to enjoy the power and the privilege while experience the discrimination or micro-aggression both consciously or unconsciously. The sexual orientation and race is closely related to the power and the privilege. The perceptions of micro-aggression are largely based on the systems and situations that we are participating in. In this paper, I will talk about my relationship to the power and privilege, my experience with micro-aggression and my past and current perceptions of micro-aggression against LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual).

In the society we know today, we often believe that it has evolved above racism and all have grown to look past race and see someone only as the person they are. However, in a society where racist messages have institutionalized themselves to the underlying morals of its inhabitants, there is no logic in believing in this archetype of society. Existing since the 1970s when coined by Chester M. Pierce, the term micoaggressions went through serious refining at the hands of Derald Wing Sue, Ph.D., professor of counseling psychology at Colombia University. He has solidified the definition of microaggressions as “…brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that

These spaces, some have argued, should be free not only of overtly critical language, but also of “microaggressions,” a term coined in the 1970s. Susan Robbins defines microaggressions as “subtle, often unconscious verbal slights or actions that convey derogatory, racist, sexist, homophobic, or other hostile messages conveying inferiority, that become cumulative over time.” Though microaggressions may not be intentional, overt, or part of a pattern, they can have a negative effect on the person or group targeted nonetheless.

“Microaggressions are little phrases that sugarcoat or enhance stereotypes,” said Thalia Mercado, senior mathematics major.

Due to the relative newness of microaggressions as a discussion topic in human social affairs the definition can differ when used in different contexts. Hoover defines microaggressions as “… a subtle conveyance of bias or stereotype...” in “The Comfortable Kid” (106.) Boysen’s article, “Teacher and Student Perceptions of Microaggressions in College Classrooms,” which uses the definition of “subtle slights and insults that are offensive but largely unintentional” for microaggression (123,) is slightly different yet follows the same main points. Contrastingly in “A Critical Analysis of Anti-Discrimination Law and Microaggressions in Academia” microaggressions are avenues used to physically discriminate against minorities that are more the result of a

Bernie Sanders cares about the future of this nation and that we should have the right to afford our education. He wants public college and universities tuition to be free but not any of the private colleges ("Bernie Sanders on Education”). Some people think that free public colleges and universities is a bad thing because we don’t know where the money is coming from, and if so it will probably come from us people. In spite of that argument, Bernie want to make a Robin Hood tax on the

America is dealing with a student loan debt crisis were are $1.2 trillion in debt and that continues to grow. As college tuition contines to rise and interest rates on student loans are very high it is time to take action. Bernie Sanders wants to make college affordable and lower the rates on students loans. The exigency is the unaffordability of college and the extremely high intrest rates Bernie realizes the problem and now must address education reform.

The history of Cuban immigration to the United States is vastly different than that of any other immigrant group. This difference have been codified into law and policy with the purpose of crippling Castro’s communist regime. Many immigrant groups and Americans have viewed the laws and policies as discriminatory as they clearly established preferential treatment, economic and education advantages of one immigrant group over another. After The U.S. government passed the Cuban Adjustment Act of 1966, exempting Cuban immigrants from many of the provision established by The U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 it was not until the “wet-foot, dry-foot policy of 1995 that anything was done by the United States government to normalize the

Psychiatrist Chester Pierce, MD in the 1970’s was the first to create the term microaggressions (Sue, 2010). While Dr. Pierce was the first to coin the term, he was not technically the first to start it. In fact, the idea of microaggressions was also introduced in the specific work of Jack Dovidio, PHD (Yale University) and Samuel Gaertner PHD (University of Delaware) when formulating aversive racism (Sue, 2010). Aversive Racism is defined as the following: “Many well-intentioned Whites consciously believe in and profess equality, but unconsciously act in a racist manner, particularly in ambiguous situation” (Sue, 2010). Similarly, microaggressions is defined as:

Micro-aggression is described as, “a subtle but offensive but offensive comment or action directed at a minority or other non-dominant group that is often unintentional or unconsciously reinforces a stereotype”. (Dictionary.com). Many people in the world are actually unaware of micro-aggressions, whether it’s actually receiving it or even handing it out. Micro aggression can be really discriminative and can also really do damage to a person. Some universities are actually trying to police these micro aggressive situations. Policing is defined as, “ Archaic regulation and control of the affairs of a community, especially with respect to maintenance of order, law, health, morals, safety, and other matters affecting the public welfare.” (Dictionary.com) Universities are really looking out for these micro aggressions, which really are a danger in society. Honestly

The Cuban people have been under the harsh dictatorship of both Felgenico Batista and Fidel Castro. They both had very strict policies and gave the Cuban people limited or no freedom at all. Batista and Castro were similar but yet different. One major difference that they had was that Batista was friendly with the United States and he had respect for American interest. On the other hand Fidel Castro hasn’t been as friendly with the United States, so the U.S has a trade embargo that restricts and American company to do business with Cuba and also U.S citizens are prohibited from traveling to Cuba unless for special circumstances.