Social Justice

In today’s society passing judgment and having opinions toward certain people or groups of people is a way of life and often times is inevitable. This can be seen in the media, group gatherings, education, and even through the government and public positions that believe there to be a need to keep a certain stereotype and reject others. Nevertheless, I have always thought if you have nothing nice to say why say anything at all? Through the activity that we did in class where we self-categorized ourselves on how we perceived the “labels” that define each and every one of us, I found it a bit stressful since I felt like I was in constant scrutiny and being judged by my peers, granted I was also unconsciously judging and making assumptions myself; nevertheless I found it to be intimidating. When trying to think of the actions, hobbies, and clubs I was in and how that defined who I was, it made me think of the stereotypes that go along with those certain activities I take part in. As I got into the circle to acknowledge my personal identification with being a painter, I thought maybe people never thought of me as creative, artistic, or unique and would laugh. However, at the same time I found the whole process of sharing who I was with other people liberating and comforting since I was able to see what other peoples interests were as well and maybe who I could possibly identify with. I found this interesting especially when comparing ascribed identity to social group membership, and how this activity would cause other people to be surprised by some people and reconfirm the assumptions of others (ascribed identity). However, I also liked the fact that this also could show people the difficulties others struggled with and made them more sensitive to the challenges they went through on a daily basis (being mentally or physically challenged, being a minority, etc). I enjoyed the activity where we became more conscious of the misuse and derogative connotation of words that many of us use often since it really allowed me to become more conscious and aware of what they actually derive from and mean. This exercise made me think of when I hear the word “spick” or “wetback” and the negative connotation it has for Latin’s, and for me since I am half Latin. It reminded me of the anger and frustration I felt when hearing this word and how others really do not understand how this word pains and angers the group being attacked to hear. I ultimately really enjoyed this activity of learning about types of identities, effects of oppression and derogation words since it has made me more aware of how others perceive me and made me more conscious of how I express myself verbally and which words I use especially when thinking that the particular word does not even mean what I intended and hurts other people in the process.