Get Real About Discrimination
Next meeting on 3/26/2010 in the IMU Sassafras Room
Get Real About Discrimination (GRAD) weekly Empowerment Group:
> Every Friday during the school year in the IMU Persimmon Room
> No meetings on 3/12 & 3/19 — Enjoy Spring Break
> Doors open at 5:30 pm — we begin promptly at 6:00 pm
> Newcomer briefing begins at 5:40 pm
> Observers and Participants welcome!
Need a voice? This is your chance to speak up and speak out! GRAD is open to everyone. It is especially meant for anyone who has ever felt silenced and/or excluded.
Click here for a GRAD brochure (Spring 2010 pdf)
Get Real About Discrimination (GRAD) holds a free weekly empowerment group every Friday during the IU school year in the Indiana Memorial Union (IMU) Persimmon Room–located in the tree suites section on the mezzanine level of the IMU. The GRAD empowerment group is a place for participants to voice their feelings about and experience of discrimination. It is also a place for listeners to become educated about what discrimination looks and feels like. By encouraging those who have experienced discrimination to express themselves publicly without judgment or criticism we promote healing and we practice becoming a conscious and loving community.
GRAD is all about supporting people’s right to be authentic. This group may also be of particular interest to educators and students who are learning about diversity, discrimination, support groups and/or group dynamics. Besides individuals, small classes and groups (less than 20) are welcome to observe.
The doors open at 5:30 pm—we begin promptly at 6:00 pm. Whether you want to participate or just observe, everyone is welcome. If you have any questions or would like to learn more, feel free to stop by the IMU Persimmon Room before the meeting to pick up a brochure and/or sign-up for our email list, or you may contact Kay at kayjohnson@noglstp.net.
We are Ending Ignorance through Conscious Listening and Healing the effects of Discrimination through Authentic Public Self Expression.
Everyone is welcome.
What is discrimination?
Discrimination is a choice. Everyone discriminates. To discriminate is to be human. We all have likes and dislikes. Some people like ketchup, others prefer mustard. It is through the act of choosing that we define who we are. Who are we discriminating against right now? We meet in a non-smoking facility, so we are discriminating against smokers. We are discriminating against people who are not of average size—all the chairs are the same. We are discriminating against people who live far from here. And we discriminate against latecomers. To not discriminate is to have no boundaries.
Having said that, there is fair and unfair discrimination. Let’s say I go to Indianapolis and apply to play basketball for the Indiana Pacers. It is likely they would not hire me. If so, they have discriminated against me. They have chosen others instead of me. If they choose to not hire me because they believe others are better at basketball than me, they are perfectly justified. Nonetheless, it would be normal for me to feel excluded and rejected and disappointed. Not being chosen hurts regardless of the reason. We are not talking here about discrimination under the law. However, if the Pacers refused to hire me because of the color of my skin or the clothes I wear, that would be unfair discrimination. But either way, fair or unfair, discrimination hurts, the feelings are real, and they need to be voiced.
That is what the Get Real About Discrimination empowerment group is all about.
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Copyright © 2010 Kay Johnson, Get Real About Discrimination—all rights reserved.