Monday, October 14, 2019
Feeling like ââ¬ÅOtherââ¬Â Essay Example for Free
Feeling like ââ¬Å"Otherâ⬠Essay I will be exploring a time when I felt like ââ¬Å"otherâ⬠, in this situation I was made to feel invisible, excluded and too visible all at the same time. In this situation I mainly felt excluded but nonetheless I felt all of the above. My husband is Nigerian and I am African American, he attends a Nigerian church and all of the members are Nigerian. Every time I go to church with him I feel as if I am too visible because I am the only non-Nigerian person there, yes we are all black but I know nothing about their culture and I do not speak their language. They often sing Nigerian praise songs and do traditional dances and when this is occurring I often feel excluded and invisible because it seem like it doesnââ¬â¢t matter if Iââ¬â¢m included since Iââ¬â¢m the only one who doesnââ¬â¢t understand what is going on. Because of this I very seldom go to church with him, it would be nice for us to go to church together all the time but itââ¬â¢s not comfortable to feel excluded or invisible. You wouldnââ¬â¢t think you could feel excluded or invisible around your own race but subgroups of the same race often have different cultures and traditions that the other doesnââ¬â¢t understand. In a lot of cases Africanââ¬â¢s who live in America feel that African Americans have acculturated into society which is ââ¬Å"a form of assimilation wherein an ethnic or racial group or an individual takes on the cultural ways of another group, usually that of mainstream culture, often at the expense of traditional cultural waysâ⬠(2014). Being African American around Africans you often get a sense of ethnocentrism from this culture in regards to language, religion and behavior. Sometimes people are not aware that they are making the ââ¬Å"otherâ⬠feel uncomfortable or excluded simply because they donââ¬â¢t know how to include the ââ¬Å"otherâ⬠. Many people are not as culturally competent as they may think and this can cause a lot of discord between differentà cultural groups. Unfortunately both groups have been marginalized, having diminished value, importance, contributions, or attributes. Because both groups notice cultural differences we feel the need to be guarded and defensive at all times. This does not help with communication and interaction between our cultures. One way for me to overcome this is exercising emotional intelligence which involves developing the ability to manage and appreciate differences. References (2014, November 1). Identity and Difference . Weekly Lecture. Lecture conducted from , . Harvey, C., Allard, M. J. (2011). Understanding and Managing Diversity, 5th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf version]. Retrieved from http://devry.vitalsource.com/books/9781269562744/id/ch01lev2sec22
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