Empathy: The Unexpected Lesson
I am not an altruistic person. My view on life has always been that you are responsible for yourself and no one else. Before Composition 1301, I found it hard to empathize with a cause that was not my own. I never understood why people would become outraged by statements made in mainstream media or lash out against private businesses over offensive practices. I always felt that you could ignore the comments, and if a company were genuinely impudent, the free market and lack of patronage would cause it to close. I attribute this outlook mostly to my youth. Growing up as an illegal immigrant in a southern state running across offensive situations was not uncommon. Many times, during amnesty marches in Dallas, all …show more content…
In my childhood, stereotypical Mexican logos were everywhere I turned. The short Mexican cartoon character dressed in white, with a giant sombrero, thick curly mustache, sandals, and bandoliers draped across his chest was ubiquitous in shopping centers around my neighborhood. That made it hard to differentiate between insult and promotion. It was not until I decided to write about the Redskins' logo that I started to experience the transformation in my thought …show more content…
The cognitive domain involves the ability to understand another person’s inner experience and feelings, with an ability to view the outside world from the other person’s perspective (Hojat et al. 2002). I was able to understand the appropriation of culture when fans donned a ceremonial headdress which tribespeople reserved for only the most special of occasions. I recognized the insult of being told that a name is not insulting when in fact it meant the death of your ancestors. I always understood when something was offensive, but I never realized that I was overlooking the human element. I never thought about how an abhorrent practice, a discriminatory regulation or prejudice act affected