The Personal Side of Bias, Prejudice, and Oppression

What memory do you have of an incident when you experienced bias, prejudice, and/or oppression, or witnessed someone else as the target of bias, prejudice, and/or oppression? Keep in mind that one can encounter such incidents in real contexts, including online environments, as well as in fictional ones, such as movies, books, television shows, and the like.

My husband is a brilliant man. He studied linguistics at The University of Chicago, and teaches literature, history and linguistics T Governors State University. He does both written and oral translating for the federal court, and fluently speaks 14 different languages. He has done extensive work on the linguistic origins of the Balkan languages, and has contributed to several texts on the subject.

To me, at least, it seems obvious in speaking to my husband that he is a brilliant man. However, he immigrated to The United States, and speaks with an accent. Upon hearing that accent, people immediately treat him as if he is both stupid and unintelligent. This happens often in fast food restaurants. My husband always orders by number (number six meal with a diet coke), and 90% of the time the person at the counter slowly and loudly explains to him what the meal consists of, as if he could not read the sign himself. He says yes, and they often yell "huh?" really loud as if he had whispered something unintelligible. Often, he then receives something he did not order, only to have the worker insist this was his order, as if he is too stupid to know what he ordered. As a result of this type of repeated humiliation, if our children force us to go to McDonalds or Pizza Hut, I do all of the ordering (because, when I order a number 6 meal with a diet coke, I get exactly that).

In what way(s) did the specific bias, prejudice and/or oppression in that incident diminish equity?

Basically, immigrants are treated like they are inferior in intelligence, ability to understand, and ability to make decisions. There is an American belief that intelligent thought can only occur in American English, and those who speak other languages natively are somehow deficient. While we are a country of immigrants, we are not very understanding of or welcoming to immigrants.

What feelings did this incident bring up for you?

It really makes me angry to see people from other countries who come to The United States looking for the promise of a better life be treated so poorly. There is an expectation that they will assimilate and become more "American," but, no matter how American they become, they will never be treated as equal.

What and/or who would have to change in order to turn this incident into an opportunity for greater equity?

The American culture and societal ideals would need to change. We have been believing in the fantasy of being better than the rest of the world for far too long. This self image of superiority has shut down people's willingness to and ability to learn from other cultures and recognize that there may be better ways of doing things. It is time for the general American viewpoint to change.