One incident where I witness prejudice is where my friend
would refer to Asians as being bad drivers. In this particular situation, my
friend was upset and had road rage and continued talk about how Asians were bad
drivers. I do not agree with my friend, however may understand how this person
may feel this way because there may have been several instances where my friend
has had bad experiences with drivers who just so happen to be Asian.
Each time I confront my friend I give examples of how some Asian people do races, this is where he gets defensive. This example diminishes equity because my friends comment is referring to several Asian people and not just a single bad person. He is saying that this person is a bad driver because he/ she is Asian, not because they simply have poor driving skills.
Each time I confront my friend I give examples of how some Asian people do races, this is where he gets defensive. This example diminishes equity because my friends comment is referring to several Asian people and not just a single bad person. He is saying that this person is a bad driver because he/ she is Asian, not because they simply have poor driving skills.
Hi Elizabeth, great example of how people discriminate against others due to a bias that they have about a group. This generalization made about Asians being bad drivers is based on a stereotype. It frustrates me when I hear the same comments made. I agree with you on the point that why can't people focus on the individual who is the "bad" driver rather than putting that individual into group based on his/her race. I have heard people say when they witnessed "bad" driving, "I knew he was Asian" or "He must be Asian." What gets me is, guess who is in the back of the car when parents are making theses racist comments.....the children. These words are being heard by children and then children will then model their parent's biases. This is one reason why prejudice continues as a vicious cycle. Children can take on the values and beliefs of their families. I am not making an assumption that all children will grow up to make the same generalizations, but there will be some children when they grow up and get their license that they will say, "What a bad driver. I knew he was Asian."
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing!
Take care,
Stephanie
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteYes, great real life example everyday. This kind of prejudice happens in the media too, where in some crazy driving scenes in the movie are most likely Asian and female. With this media influence, it made people believe that all Asian especially females are bad driver. I think it maybe hard to change someone’s mind, but maybe showing them the facts and statics of the real numbers of how many people get into accident was Asian may help?? I am not sure, but as educators, I would try my best to educate children that everyone is unique and that no one should act in particular way because of their appearance, we always need to be open-minded and respect other races. Thanks for sharing !
Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteThis is only a myth which results from the difficulties that Asian drivers have, trying to adjust to the country's "unique" road rules. They behave overly cautious since they had come from densely populated areas where they had less driving experience, thus tending to be less confident behind the wheel. Great post on Asian drivers!!