Hey! I know I know I know, more reading right?
This week we had a bit of an interruption because of our visitor Dorian, a hurricane, who caused us to have a week out of classes. Due to this matter we weren't able to have in class discussions, but we did have PLENTY of reading to keep us busy. The readings consisted of topics that touched on speech and communication.
Somethings are New, Others aren't Implemented...
Communication, what exactly does it take to have proper communication skills? Is it something that's limited to answering a formal phone call or to writing a formal paper? We all know that there's more to communication than pen and paper or answering a phone call that maybe a interview. In 12 Essential Communication Skills That Aren't Taught in Schools at All (link within title) readers can observe that there are some additional skills needed for properly communicating with another person, especially in building or maintaining a relationship. Some takeaways that I want to focus on are the topics of showing empathy, proactive listening, acknowledging others, and confident public speaking. The reason why theses topics stuck out to me is because in the other readings like "What exactly is a Microaggression?" and "The Power of Dialog" (links within tittles), I felt as though if these few things were implemented in certain cases we wouldn't have a high issue in microaggression and other communication problems. It is quoted in "What exactly is a Microaggression?" that "Microaggressions are more than just insults, insensitive comments, or generalized jerky behavior. They're something very specific: the kinds of remarks, questions, or actions that are painful because they have to do with a person's membership in a group that's discriminated against or subject to stereotypes. And a key part of what makes them so disconcerting is that they happen casually, frequently, and often without any harm intended, in everyday life." With that being said if we had more empathy and acknowledgment of others these types of things can be limited. This issue of microaggression will not completely come to an end because there are individuals who lack empathy or acknowledgement which in turns keeps this issue alive. Continuing further, in "The Power Dialog" it is quoted, "Genuine understanding seems to be the exception rather than the norm in everyday communication. We speak at each other, or past each other. We speak different conceptual languages, hold different values, embody different ways of seeing the world. Much of the time, we're not even listening to each other at all. The dialogue is a monologue. We fire salvos of information across the Internet, or shoot each other text messages, or blog or Twitter about ourselves. But is anyone paying attention? And if they are, do they catch our drift?" Proactive listening is something that I feel is lacking when conversing with others. " Proactive listening is a huge part in conversing with others. It lets the other person know that you are attentive and care about what they are talking about.
My View VS. Their View
In a blog tittle "On Speech and Belonging", (link within title) John A. Powell stated, "These speakers are not using their right to speak merely to communicate, they are using speech carefully crafted to harm, to demonize, to disparage, to create a sense of fear about anyone they deem Other." He was referencing the speakers that colleges bring to the campus to speak to the students. From my personal experience here at Georgia Southern, I have yet went to an event where there was a speaker who singled out a group of people or a person. Most speakers that I have heard anywhere here on campus have talked about something that helps with adjusting to the campus or something that will aid us in our college career. While this blog was written in the year 2017, I believe that adjustments can be made or might have already been made since two years ago. It may be prevalent that there are still speakers out there who stereotype or divide people, but there are also those who stand up for their belief against such statements. On another note, in a PBS video titled, "Schools are watching students' social media, raising questions about free speech", (link within title) it was stated that a few way schools monitor students social media post are through hiring monitoring firms, encouraging student reporting, friending students to see post, and flagging district media mentions. It was also mentioned that the reason why schools go so far is because safety is the top priority; however, this monitoring under the name of safety has caused students to not feel comfortable with expressing their thoughts or to even like others post regardless if was seen as harmless because some have been suspended or affiliated with a situation due to a double tap or comment (ie: liking a picture of a meme that might not be so funny to a official, or maybe liking a picture of a gun). Social media is also the biggest platform for microaggression, which I don't enjoy, but there are times where I have found something funny like a meme, but little did I know that it was targeted at a specific group of people. It is absolutely hard to say what is wrong or what may be seen as going too far due to the fact that lives have been saved by monitoring social media. I am able to see both sides of the coin, which makes this topic on speech harder to express than to merely have a blunt conversation about it.
Personal Reflection
Freedom of Speech is a slippery slope. Where does one draw the line? When someone gets hurt? stereotyped? bullied? microaggression? Let me face it, I am not perfect, but I can control my actions and what I say, post, retweet, or protest. I can't change the world (at least not by myself), others perspective or others behavior. All that I can do is stand up for myself or for another person or group of people who have a hard time or can't express themselves. The readings assigned for this week have really been an eye opener and game changer in certain ways. Schools are trying their best to help protect students, but even they aren't sure what's too far. I believe that it is a collective thing where we have to come together and figure out what's best for both sides. Of course, there will be individuals who are an exception to this rule, because they are who they are and will face whatever comes their way as a response to their actions.
Thank you for your post, I agree with you that Freedom of Speech can be a hard topic. How far is to far? That is a tough question to answer because it could be different for every situation! What is too far in one case might not be in another, however, I also agree that it would be best to come together and attempt to resolve this question. I enjoyed reading your blog.
ReplyDeleteThank you for this great post. You're blog looks great too, and the words are even better. I loved your personal reflection section. I agree that we can control our actions that are done on campus and even done on social media. I liked how you pointed out that social media is the biggest platform for microaggression. However, is there any way to actually control social media? Because isn't that also protected in the first amendment? What can schools say is too far and what is not? I guess these are all the questions that schools are trying to figure out just as you mentioned.
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