I have witnessed a coworker being teased because of her
accent. She is Spanish speaking and from Puerto Rico. My coworker has been in
the states for 20 years but still has a very strong accent and can’t pronounce
some things in English so she and another teacher speak Spanish a lot at work
to help her speak English better. A lot of people assume she doesn’t know much,
an air head because of her Spanish background but she’s very smart. My coworker
has 3 children and is married, but they were born here so not a strong accent. My
coworker also experienced an issue with getting back into school. She needed
help feeling out her FASFA and she was given the run around as if no one wanted
to help her. People would get frustrated because they could not understand her.
This situation was not presented as fair because no one
tried to help my co worker. I think it is so much easier to help than to ridicule.
We are all the same but different. Instead of giving her the run around with
FASFA they someone could have sent her a guide on what to do or took ten
minutes out of their time to help.
The feelings I got from this was heartbreaking. I felt in a
way I knew where she was coming from because my race is considered a minority
and we still experience prejudice, racism and discrimination because of our
race.
Both parties involved could have turned the situation around
because everyone should be treated with dignity and respect no matter their
background. My coworker should not have to, but just had to work harder for
people to understand her by educating herself so it will be easier for her and who
ever she communicates with. In this world you have to work almost twice as hard
to get what you want or deserve and that is in every category.
Kweshonte
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for your co-worker because language got in the way of her continuing her education. I agree with you that those who are considered the minority have to work harder to get what they want and it is not fair. Learning about privilege and the things that I have been awarded has helped me to understand the many issues that others have to deal with and it makes me angry that this is accepted in this country.
Accents are one way for us to express our culture. Although I have lived in the DC area for 24 years, I still have a slight "country" accent. It's not southern, as I consider that much slower and drawn out. But when meeting new people, most ask me "Where are you from?" I always wonder if they think I am a southern person? It makes me wonder if they think of me as a "redneck" or a racist person?
ReplyDeleteI have worked very hard to get rid of my accent so that I am not considered southern.
This must be hard for your friend. My accent is not based on a separate language. Your friend has it tough. An accent is part of who we are, and it's terrible that she was treated poorly while trying to further her education.