November 15th Meeting Reflection

This was a lot of fun. Granted we got literally NOTHING done for our part of town, Maggie and I really got an interesting perspective to work from.

1. Name of Cohort Meeting: Ethics/Archie Bunker's Neighborhood

2. Identify Competency:
-An ability or skill to help complete a task

3. What are 3 things you learned?
-Whether the activity was overdramatized or not, it seems like anyone that isn't caucasian is treated as though they're a second class citizen. I know that some people even live like this in real life and it's almost ridiculous to think about.
-Stereotypes are created unfairly, and are almost perpetuated because society essentially forces people to fit the stereotypes that "suit" them. Not only this, but many people use what's called "confirmation bias" to perpetuate these stereotypes and rationalize the fact that they hold them by only looking at situations that reinforce their prejudices and ignoring any of those that don't.
-What some may consider and easy task may be an extreme struggle for another group of people. Maggie and I had so few materials and found building anything very difficult, whereas Bailey had lots of resources and had no trouble building.

4. What was the most shocking thing about the activity?
-The most shocking thing was easily the fact that we didn't get anything done simply because our "race" brought out all kinds of empty fears and stereotypes. Every time we almost got a permit passed, something would happen where we were treated unjustly and then we would have to start the whole process over again, sometimes even losing money that we couldn't get back because everyone seemed to be against us.

5. What have been your thoughts about the activity since leaving the meeting?
-I've always tried to put myself in others' situations, but this really helped put things in better perspective. In fact, there is a lot people I would like to have do this activity, because they look at the world so cynically and one dimensionally. They need to be aware that people will be different than them, and that it's not right to judge them for it.