In the third session of project Opus, the theme “stereotypes and discrimination” was discussed. Lately there has been a lot of media attention around this theme. These current events were therefore certainly discussed: for example, the interview with Harry and Meghan in which the concerns about the skin color of their baby within the British royal family were mentioned, but also the published discriminatory messages within the police force in Rotterdam.
According to the participants, the role of the media is important to bring these kinds of things to light. In this way, the media create awareness and social discussion. However, on a more critical note: discrimination is a daily phenomenon and what happened to Harry and Meghan, for example, is not as exceptional as it is presented. The media then earn a lot of money from the fuss that is created, said one participant.
The illusion that discrimination is exceptional was discussed further. Another participant mentioned the fact that institutional discrimination is not yet recognized as such in the Netherlands. The news about George Floyd in the United States also stirred up a lot in the Netherlands, but mainly with the idea that this is a major problem in the United States but not here in the Netherlands. The leaked messages from the police force in Rotterdam show that this problem is indeed present in the Netherlands.
Participants also mentioned examples of discrimination they experienced, for example on the basis of their skin colour or sexual orientation. For example, how having a dark skin colour evokes disdain when performing a profession: the assumption of people that the person is performing a profession with a lower education or whether the person has followed their education in the jungle. Unlike skin colour, sexual orientation cannot always be read from someone. “You can get the idea that it (discrimination) is not there, but if you show it publicly, the reactions will come anyway.”
In addition, we have also discussed how we may discriminate ourselves. We are educated in a certain way and our brains work in such a way that we quickly put people in boxes. This is not necessarily wrong, but we must be aware of it. A comment such as “I don’t see colour” is problematic in that respect, said one participant. Of course, we see colour and it also makes a difference. Someone with a darker skin colour often has different experiences in life than those with a lighter skin colour and we should not just deny those experiences. Awareness appears to be the keyword around this theme.
Would you like to know more about this topic? Take a look at our library.
Would you like to participate in our project? The next session will be on April 24 from 13:00 – 15:00 and will be about human rights. You can register here and you can ask any questions via the contact form or by sending an email to mara@yallafoundation.nl. We hope to see you during our project!