Discussion Board REPLYS
In 200-300 words each you must reply to both of the classmates post below. Be sure to label each reply so that I know which one you are addressing. Please note that “I like what you said,” “That’s a good point,” and “I disagree with your point” do not count as complete replies in and of themselves. Rather, stating why you liked or disliked the comment, adding additional thoughts or ideas to the original point, and/or providing alternative ideas or thoughts when you disagree will count as a reply. You are expected to be courteous in any disagreement with a classmate. Thus, personal attacks or calling an idea “stupid” or another derogatory remarks are not acceptable, and your grade will reflect such behavior. The specific amount of points deducted will be left to the discretion of the instructor. Be sure to cite and reference all sources. Graduate quality work is expected to be free from spelling and grammatical errors, written according to the most current APA formatting guidelines, and adhere to the specific assignment instructions that are provided. Please check your word count!!
Patricia Post:
In his video interview, Dr. Ed Barker explains that his family background consist of Native American (Choctaw) among many other minorities. What is interesting about his minority heritage is the fact that he knows very little about the details of the culture from which he comes. His paternal grandmother was Choctaw, and lived on a Reservation in Colorado when she was young. As soon as she was able, she left to get away from the disparaging stereotypes that were associated with her Native American Tribe. Dr. Barker mentioned stereotypes such as “all Native Americans are alcoholics, lazy, uneducated, etc.” (Barker, 2010). When Dr. Barker asked his family about his Native American heritage, he was told not to inquire about that part of his history. This created self-esteem issues for him during his childhood because he did not feel like he related to anyone. He was also confused when he suffered discrimination as a young man, because he did not know why he was being discriminated against.
Dr. Barker suffered from the effects of discrimination in his childhood, which is similar to other Native American youth. What is unique to Dr. Barker’s situation is the fact that he did not know enough about his heritage to understand the reason for the discrimination. While many minorities have a sense of pride in their culture and history, Dr. Barker comments that his lack of knowledge about his heritage and the discrimination that he faced lead him to have self-esteem issues as a young man. In addition to being discriminated against for his Native American heritage, he also faced reverse discrimination among those that felt he benefited from “White privilege”. “White privilege refers to the positive ways that Whites benefit from racism” (Hays & Erford, 2014, p. 93). Dr. Barker states that, more than once in his life, this misrepresentation of who he is exposed him to hostile environments. He goes on to explain that the stereotypical judgements that he has been subject to in his life have made him who he is today. “When I realized that I didn’t have to be the guy people made fun of, and I could be myself, it started something new in my life that is still going on” (Barker, 2010). The overall message that I took from the video interview of Dr. Barker is this: “One of the saddest things in life is not to meet someone new simply because you think they might be different than you in some strange way” (Barker, 2010). When we work to understand the unique and interesting characteristics of those that differ from us, we stand to gain an enormous amount of love and compassion for our fellow human.
References
Barker, E. (2010).A multiracial Native American experience.Retrieved fromhttps://learn.liberty.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_255025_1&content_id=_9976672_1.
Hays, D.G., & Erford, B.T. (Eds.). (2014). Developing multicultural counseling competence: A systems Approach (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Adrina Post
I enjoyed this mini documentary of Dr. Ed Barker about his life and family heritage, and the struggles he endured and embraced as Native American from the Choctaw tribe. Doctor Baker mentioned that he was not privileged to much information about the tribal culture, nor was he allowed to inquire about it because his father; who appeared to be the voice of the family was not proud of their family’s history. His father’s mother was raised on a Reservation, however, she left to flee the norm and stereotyped lifestyle she was destined to live had she remained on the Reservation. (University, 2010).
Like many other minority groups, Dr. Barker experienced discrimination in his child due to the pigmentation of his skin when he would be out in the sun during the summer months. He also stated that on the other hand, he could “pass” when his when he was as pale as the interviewer. These type of encounters resulted in low self-esteem and doubt of who he really was. He was rejected by the white race, yet not fully embraced by all minority races. Hence sparking his interest in learning about his Native American culture. Additionally, having to be a product of a Socioeconomic Status (SES) challenged environment, Dr. Baker prided his parents for the values they instilled in him as a young boy. His reflection on what his high school guidance counselor told him was very thought disheartening, yet thought provoking. The counselor said that he should prepare for a life of “unloading trucks or ships because of his stature”. Matthew 12:33-37 speaks about how we can build up or tear down with our tongue: “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart[a] brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the Day of Judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” (Bible Gateway, 2001). Praise God, Dr. Baker did not receive those words over his life, because he later became a National Merit. Today, Dr. Baker is paying it forward as he is reaping his harvest for his labor in his earlier life. I plan to take his life quote about fitting in into my practice as I counsel children with low self-esteem and those are struggling with issues of fitting in “Fitting in is a matter of starting in your brain and realizing who you are, but then you can see where you belong. If there’s anything in you that needs to be changed it’s not external, it’s internal and once you make that change; you can truly fit in anywhere. Because it’s the peace inside of you that helps you to understand you’re as good as anybody else can fit in anywhere and God will help you find where you fit.
In regards to Social Class and the experiences of Dr. Baker, classism is having discriminatory beliefs about, and behavior toward individuals and groups based on their perceived or actual SES. Per the text, having being exposed to these messages, methods and treatments, one’s beliefs and values are of a respective class status, it is known as internalized classism. Feeling shamed accomplishment, superiority, etc. I noticed a few of these characteristics in Dr. Baker as well as the way he described he was being treated as a child. (Hays & Erford, 2014, pp. 162-163). Dr. Baker did not display the alternative form of classism: that of showing blame, resentment, etc. He has chosen to turn to his faith and is now reaping his full harvest, he was elated when described him and his wife trip to Calgary.
References:
Bible Gateway. (2001). Retrieved from https://www.biblegateway.com
Hays, D. G., & Erford, B. T. (2014). Developing Multicultural Counseling Competence; A Systems Approach (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Pearson. Retrieved November 10, 2015
University, L. (Director).(2010). A Multicultural Native American Experience [Motion Picture]. Retrieved from https://learn.liberty.edu/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?course_id=_255025_1&content_id=_9976672_1
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