This video is a great example of the importance of keeping intercultural conversations continuous and open in the media. As terrible or uncomfortable as it may be, we need to keep the global conversation going. Scott Pelley explained how important it was to show a large amount of disturbing footage because "These kinds of things happen in this world too often because [people] don't see them" and he wants them to understand. Many will refuse to listen to or discuss something they disagree with (selective perception) or simply think it is not worth their time. This is a problem because if we do not challenge ourselves and break down our walls to be vulnerable and be uncomfortable, we will find ourselves in the perpetual cycle of using the politeness protocol and not having any real conversations meaningful conversations.
This is an example of a micro aggression by Cloyd Rivers. He is discounting that black Americans have it systematically worse off than white Americans - and incorrectly using a fallacy to back it up. The polls at the end of his tweet does not take into account the population numbers for each race. He is facilitating and encouraging negative race talk. This graph is specious because it is superficially plausible, but actually wrong - there are no percentages in there to determine the correct statistical data for each race living in poverty. But even so, the fact that someone posted this goes to show that this is how our society is talking about institutional racism and poverty and inequality - like it is not a real thing and that white's have it just as bad.
We talked a lot in class discussions about how the best way to promote effective race talk is to calmly educate others on any cultural differences, but also to be open to other perspectives and mindsets. What this example shows is how frustrating it can be when you try to educate people on your oppression and - instead of being empathetic - they get upset and post videos such as this one. Complaining about how hard he has it and how that means he is not privileged is concerning to those groups who are actually being oppressed. Rather than coming up with a small-scale counter movement or counter argument about how bad white people have it as well, he should empathetic to the struggles of those who have not been historically privileged.
This is a depressing example of what can occur when people are not educated on race talk or have not had the chance to communicate openly and honestly with others of different cultures and races. Instead of coming into the conversation neutral and open-minded, they come in with unwaivering attitudes and their own agenda. Discriminating against and stereotyping an entire group of people (Islam, Black Lives Matter movement) is not how you approach intercultural communication correctly. There is clear prejudice against the two groups mentioned by the people who tweeted about them, because no other information was included to back up what they were saying - it was only a short statement of pure opinion.
This is a great example of interpersonal racism in the classroom. It has become more subtle, indirect, and persistent. There are many key terms from this course I want to call attention to that are present in this video:
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Verbal insults
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“If Muslims like you feel that way then why don’t you get out of our country?”
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The old saying "sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me" is simply not true any longer. It is not because our generation has become more easily offended or because we do not have thick skin. It is because rather than people being violent (although this still occurs), people are hurling insults everywhere trying to be coy about it. Rather than not be rude to others that have differing viewpoints or perspectives, we need to start trying to understand them and challenge our own beliefs in the process.
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Exclusion (systematic or others)
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Common communication choices that show how exclusion and avoidance can be subtle
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Whether we smile at people, stare, or stop talking when they walk into the room
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Whether we listen and respond to what people say or drift away
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Whether we acknowledge people’s presence or make them wait
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Universal facial expressions
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Nose wrinkle (slight social distancing)
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Disgust face (social repulsion)
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When the female in the video did not like what the male student that came in late was saying, she would turn away from him and look forward with a look of disgust and annoyance. This is one of the worst ways to communicate with someone interculturally because you are nonverbally telling them you do not care about their opinion or their version of events.
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Eye contact (proxemics)
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Less eye contact increases interpersonal distance between two people
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Each time the male student began speaking about something the female student disagreed with, she would break eye contact immediately and only return to it when she was directing a question at him.
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In thhe U.S., eye contact communicates paying attention and showing respect
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This video ties in very well with two guest speakers we had during this semester: Brooke Chang and Natalie Fajardo, who both work at the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI). The video highlights how minorities (Asians) are represented in the media. In popular culture, Asian women in particular are portrayed as
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Exotic
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Subserviant
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Controllable
These are all simply not true for the average Asian woman. When popular culture reinforces beliefs and stereotypes about a specific culture, society begins to treat them as how they are represented in the media. This is detrimental to the progress of all minorities attempting to be considered as equals. The woman said a very powerful quote at the end that summed up the entire video very well saying, "When the only prerequisite for me to become your potential partner is the color of my skin... that's cheap, that's offensive." By not portraying Asian women this way in popular culture, we can begin as a society to start treating each other equally. Both Chang and Fajardo touched on this in their presentations, with the formers speaking directly about "model minorities" and how Asian's - men and women - are being stereotyped and belittled in the media and in society.
Imagine that you have been hired by a company that values diversity. The first day on the job you learn that you’ve been assigned to a project team and that one of the members is from Nigeria and new to the organization herself. Using what you have learned in both Sue and Martin explain how you will approach communication and relational development with this new colleague.
Diverse cultures, communication styles, and perceptions make communication difficult if you do not know how to effectively communicate cross-culturally. This semester has expanded my view of communication across cultures, as I have not traveled outside the country yet, and truly caused me to be more self-aware and to self-monitor my behavior when communicating.
Knowing that my new coworker is from Nigeria, I would immediately begin thinking about the different communication styles we will both possess that Sue discussed in chapter 7. According to Sue, the Nigerian will be more expressive and emotional, while I know I am more direct and logical about my communication (some call it "no nonsense"). Besides trying to gain some background information on my coworker, which individualistic societies like the U.S. need for more effective communication, I would make sure to utilize the politeness protocol during our first encounter. By doing this, I will be polite, not offensive, and keep the conversation light. This is not the preferred approach to communicate, but given the circumstances and my own awareness of myself, I believe using this protocol would give me the tools I need to grow the relationship positively.
Once we have conversed a few times, I would definitely try to ask questions so I could expand my knowledge of their culture. Although I am a very curious person by nature, I know other cultures may not appreciate my hard-hitting or possibly offensive questions. In order to avoid this, mutual listening must take place. Simply because I want to communicate and learn about my new coworker's culture does not mean I can negate their wants and needs. If they are new to the organization, the last thing I want to do is be overbearing and a source of anxiety. Ensuring that you listen to the other person, keep an open dialogue, and try to understand, effective communication and relational development can occur.
As well as making sure my new coworker is heard, I would definitely say being tolerant of ambiguity and differences is extremely important in order to grow and develop the relationship. The Martin text spoke about ambiguity and the anxiety people have over the unknown or things that are different. One of the most important points I learned in this class has to do with the fact that differences are not a bad thing; they can actually be good and incredibly useful to grow your self, as well as for society to grow. After considering this, I began thinking about color blindness. Specifically, about how many Whites believe taking color and race out of the equation and promoting communication that claims everyone being "the same" is a good thing when it really only reinforces the belief that differences are bad. After taking this class and reading the Martin and Sue texts I can say with certainty that this is simply not true. The key moments where I grew the most were when I was faced with an opposing belief, a difference of opinion, or a completely opposite communication style. Learning to note differences and accept that each individual and each culture has something you can learn from it is so critical to developing effective intercultural communication skills.
I had an old friend from high school that came to Radford University with me who was Filipino. It began long before we got to college, but because she was darker skinned than me all year she would constantly call me pale. While it never used to bother me because I had to deal with it over and over, it bothers me now. I am white. I know that. But why did she feel the need to point it out every time she saw my skin? I started to feel lesser than her, like pale skin was bad, and the connotations got uglier and uglier. She did not see how much she was hurting me, because I know she was uncomfortable with herself. I feel this may be the case with people who discriminate based on race. The only reason to put someone down for any reason is because you do not like yourself. I think people should realize that you must communicate positively to yourself before you can influence how we communicate with each other.
Erin Cafferty
Radford, Virginia
Beyonce's "Formation" performance at the Super Bowl this year caused a huge media craze and controversy is still ensuing from the two minute long ordeal. The outrage from her performance reinforces white America, white supremacy, and the patriarchy. Black culture is glorified and commoditized in society today, but when the people of that culture are true to their identity and proud of their heritage, they are put down and marginalized.
"I might just be a black Bill Gates in the making" might be the most important part of the entire socially conscious song. She chose a rich white man on purpose. She should be able to achieve the same things as anyone else, but the power struggle between those few already at the top and the millions of people clawing at the walls from the bottom prevents that from happening.
