PERSONAL DISCRIMINATION 1

Personal Discrimination Victoria Schwager

Analysis Paper SW 3110 Diversity and Oppression and Social Justice Professor Lawrence September 12th, 2012

PERSONAL DISCRIMINATION 2 Discrimination can happen to anyone at anytime for any reason. Based on where you live, where youre from, the color of your skin, and even ethnicity you are. We all have been discriminated against or have discriminated against someone at some point in our lives. Were told what we believe is wrong, what we feel for someone else is unacceptable and were informed that our way of living isnt normal. Or at times we are the ones saying hurtful words to another. We may not have realized what we were doing or that it was wrong but we all have experienced these feelings of discrimination. I have been a victim of discrimination in my life as well, similar to others. I was in the ninth grade of high school between classes, when a friend of mine called me the Aryan Race. I was offended and should have taken action against him, but too young to realize I was being discriminated against. During this period of time we were learning about World War II, and had gone over the significance of the war and what it meant. I remember suddenly that my friend understandably said it specific to my ethnic background. I am a proud German-American and have taken part in German folk dancing since I was three years old, and most of my family grew up in Germany during the time of World War II. My friend knew this and for some reason still decided to call me names. I took it personally as my great uncle Joe was in a concentration camp, and it hit close to home as he had struggles of major discrimination himself. Now that Im older I realize what truly happened and still feel hurt but have forgiven the person, as he may not have realized what he was saying. While I have been discriminated against, I too have also discriminated. When I was in middle school my friends parents went through a divorce and my friends mom moved into a trailer park. I made fun of her by making comments saying it wasnt

PERSONAL DISCRIMINATION 3 a real house like her old one or mine. Coming from a happy family with married parents and siblings I didnt realize what I said or did to her. I discriminated against her family being broken. I realize this now more than ever, as my family has also become slightly broken. I didnt make her life easier; I should have when she was going through such a hard time. Learning about discrimination I have realized its not fair to judge against someones way of living. Institutional discrimination is a current major problem. Large groups of people are being judged and made to feel bad for who they are. I belong to a GermanAmerican Culture Center located in the Metro Detroit area where I have taken part in dancing since I was three years old. I grew up learning how to waltz, polka, fox trot, tango, learning many traditional dances from the old country that my accentors once performed. As this is a large organization there are many Culture Centers located around the Country that take part in the same dances and traditions as I. Once a year the Culture Centers get together in one city and celebrate what we love and share in the traditions that we were taught. I have noticed times that our organization has been discriminated against, and where our organization has discriminated as well. Traditional dances are hard, and if not learned from a young age can be difficult to grasp. At many events there are people we call Americans or anyone that is not part of our organization. We have judged the way they dance perform our dances, mocking them. This has happened to our organization, where we have been made fun of and judged for our nationality and the way we support and practice it. We have been called Nazis for our gatherings. I have been told that traditional dancing is silly or stupid. Being told how to feel and what we believe is painful and discouraging. Being discriminated against for something we truly love is

PERSONAL DISCRIMINATION 4 wrong and unfair. I realize now that we too were discriminating against other people for not knowing how to perform our traditional dances. Learning about institutional discrimination I have realized that this is not fair for us to do, we have been discriminated against as well, which is hypocritical. Since Institutional Discrimination targets large groups of people like race, gays and lesbians, different nationalities, age, and gender, many groups of people being discriminated against. These groups of people are just living their lives as I do when I practice my traditions as a German folk dancer. These groups are not causing harm to anyone and are just being themselves, loving and enjoying what they do on a daily basis. Realizing I have taken part in and have been discriminated against, alters my opinion in regards to discrimination. I am bothered that it happened and that I have taken part in it. After learning about different forms of discrimination I hope that I can apply it to how I work when I become a Social Worker. My dreams of helping the world have now changed slightly as I hope to help many organizations to become accepted in this new world we live in. Im hoping to change my own organizations thoughts about how we discriminate and help them realize that its unjust. I hope that in my journey of Social Work I can help end discrimination in the world.