Appreciating Diversity Response (Rudkin, Chapter 5)

The Community Psychology Chapter on Appreciating Diversity was by far the most useful to my Research-Action Topic of racism. So for this response I will focus most of my writing on conveying the parts that rang truest and that I considered my own research.

One of the first barriers to overcome in discussing the differences among us is to find the words to talk about it. So often we, as a society and as individuals, tiptoe around the elephant in the room. If there is just meaningful discussion and acknowledgement of the existence of a problem that could be a huge first step. This is additionally hard when people feel they lack the terms to discuss the topic…how to you refer to different races? Black, Negro, African American? Mexican, Hispanic, Chicano? While adopting group names can enhance a positive collective identification, they can often trip people up. A statement that I found very interesting was the fact that the term diversity reflects an interest in different cultures, suggests positive regard for differences, and avoids dualisms, BUT it deflects attention from historic and ongoing inequities by implying harmony. Recognizing progress cannot blind us from the accomplishments that still need to be made.

Problems also arise with the way we use certain terms. The various “-isms” of society tend to focus almost solely on the victims, not the perpetrators. It forces people to view the lack of justice as something that is the victims fault, thus further aggravating the issues. Using the example of sexism in the “Men shut up” example was something that most of us do not think about but should! It is almost an unspoken understanding, which I myself have felt, that as a woman you do not speak up with your views, and if you do, you better prepare to be ridiculed for them or not taken seriously. I can imagine that those that are affected by other “–isms” feel the same way. In fact, understanding how the victim feels and seeing the faults of the aggressor was a useful tool in the example Jane Elliot’s experiment in educating children on racism. I think educating children to understand and recognize the issue is a great preventative measure for the future of this country.

When the author listed the various difficulties of achieving diversity, I immediately identified because I have thought of some of the same troubles while trying to plan my super-initiative: the legacy of silence, imprecise and changing terminology, false dualisms, complexity of similarities and differences within and across groups, and multiple influences on behavior.
Well those are the problems…but as for the solution? Focus on the GAINS; the strengths NOT the deficits. I agree that we need to learn that heated debate may be healthy, there may be more than a single right answer, and that win-win situations are possible. When we attend to different worldviews, our horizons expand and our solutions to problems can become more complete. My final excerpt to draw on is one that I think is a major factor in racism: Interactions with members of other groups will be more productive and satisfying if they flow from a base of understanding and respect rather than ignorance or fear.