Homework for 4/14

With the statement that the topic of racism and discrimination should be confronted head-on in order for the problem to be solved, despite its ability to make people uncomfortable; some people could argue that bringing up these subjects can cause trauma to resurface, or even be offensive when simply brought up and discussed. When reviewing a situation that happened at Brandeis University, Lukianoff and Haidt explain how a group of Asian-Americans, who sought to bring attention to microaggressions aimed at Asians, wrote stereotypical phrases that were commonly directed toward the community in a place were they could easily be seen and gain influence. As a result, Lukianoff and Haidt state that “…a backlash arose among other Asian American students, who felt that the display itself was a microaggression” (para. 3). A cause that sought to bring attention to the discrimination and racial profiling, instead offended the minorities that they were trying to protect. There is no right answer on how to deal with these situations, but we must deal with them in the end. We can’t push back what was so clearly a large part of history in order to protect the people from being uncomfortable. It is through being uncomfortable that we grow as a community, as individuals, and address the problems that need to be addressed.