Living in an “-ism” World

Tittle: Living in an “-ism” World
Choose Topic: Writing
Select number of pages: 3
Question Description: Review the website “Test Yourself for Hidden Bias” (https://www.learningforjustice.org/professional-development/test-yourself-for-hidden-bias)

Consider the significance of each “ism” in your pr and personal life. Write a reflective essay in which you:

Summarize your understanding of the patterns which transform personal bias and prejudice into “isms” (Be sure to cite the resources to substantiate your thinking)
Respond to the following questions:

Racism
What is the most salient experience in my life directly related to my race?
What have I learned about my comfort/discomfort and biases/prejudices with regard to race?
What new insights, professional and/or personal, about racism did I gain from the article, “Inverting Racism’s Distortions”?

Classism
What did I learn about my assumptions with regard to other people’s race, gender, education and/or personal dispositions when I learn that they are wealthy? When I learn that they are poor?
What do I identify as the main reason why some people are financially secure and others are not?
What new insights did I gain, professionally and personally, from the two articles about classism, “The Question of Class” and “The Myth of the ‘Culture of Poverty.’’

Ableism
With regard to varying abilities, what is one of my cognitive, physical, and/or emotional strengths and one of my limitations—and in what ways do they influence my life?
Given that emotional challenges are neither “visible” nor easily put into categories: What specific advantages/disadvantages do I think exist for emotionally challenged people?
What new insights, professionally and personally, did I gain from the articles about ableism, “Disability Images and the Art of Theorizing Normality”, “Disability Angst”, and “It’s Not Just About Racism, But Ableism.”

Religion-ism
Can I or can I not assume that I will not have to work or attend school on my significant religious holidays—and what are the implications of the answer to this question?

Answer previewHow safe (i.e., without fear of violence or mockery) do I feel if I decide to pray in public according to my religious beliefs?What new insights, professionally and personally, did I gain from the article “Understanding Christian Privilege”?

Stereotypes, prejudices, and biases are part of today’s World. Human beings had to learn how to classify beings, both human and non-human, to survive (Test Yourself for Hidden Bias, 2021). This characteristic has been passed down as a coping mechanism for the human race, with studies showing that children as young as three years old pick up terms that are rich in racial prejudice. Once acquired at such a tender age, these stereotypes and prejudices are relatively difficult to alleviate. They may cause the affected individuals to become biased by what they believe in, notwithstanding the evidence presented. Such bias has led to clumping different individuals into groups, thus propagating the term “-ism” into today’s language. Terms such as racism, classism, ableism, and religion-ism are part of the new vocabulary, and this paper aims to show their effects.

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