Microaggression

Personally I experience microaggression on a daily basis. I am the Secretary of my home owners association and I am constantly being under minded because of my age. I am 27 years old I bought my home when I was 22. Some of the people on the board feel that because of my age I don’t have the integrity for this magnitude of work. For instance when it comes to my opinion or validity of things I am questioned without being questioned. Someone cut down 15 acres of common ground trees without permission and we even asked them to stop and they told us to but out. Now the home owners association is expected to clean up their mess, which will cost 15,000 dollars out of HOA money. I have worked for lawyers and private investigators for the past 10 years off and on for the summer each year. I do know a little about lawyers and paperwork. Not to mention that I have a bachelor’s degree. Well I spoke up and said before we spend this amount of money on something that is not even our fault; I feel that we should talk to a lawyer and perhaps our insurance company as well. The President of the HOA responds, “Why do all you young people always think you know everything, how could you possibly think you could offer anything besides costing us more money?” Well yes I was a little upset because I was working for the lawyer at the time and had already spoke to him and had been told we had a case. My lawyer was willing to do it for a reduced fee seeing as to how I would have been doing almost all of the paperwork. Really upsets me to think that age has a factor in knowledge to some people.  

I think that this assignment helped me to realize that it is really easy to say things in a way that you don't mean to hurt people's feelings but manage to do so.

I feel that as a teacher it is very important to know about microaggressions because it will help you acknowledge how you say things to people. It is so easy to say something to a parent and not mean to throw accusations or be mean about something and do so anyways. It really will help you be more aware of things that you say and do to people.