Crossing the line

Is this discrimination?

Duration: Approx. 20-45 minutes

Introduction

The first two exercises are primarily a conceptual introduction to this Anti-Racism training. With this exercise, we are now going more into the complex topic of discrimination. This is less about working out a definition of discrimination and more about exploring and discussing different situations related to discrimination, to promote awareness, and to understand different forms of discrimination. To pursue these goals, we are presenting four situations, and you will need to position yourself according to your personal belief about whether the situation involves discrimination or not. One sentence for each situation might be short but this is all the information that is available. Take your decision based on the information that are given. It is not possible to choose exactly the middle, because we always tend towards a certain side or opinion and, especially in the context of discrimination, it is central that one positions oneself and no apparent ‘neutrality’ is prescribed. We encourage you to consider the complexity and different perspectives surrounding each situation. Of course, it is interesting which position you will choose immediately after reading the situation. And then, because this exercise isn’t about being in time, take your time to think about your first impressions of the given situations. Ask yourself and write down, why you choose that position and if there is any context in which you would decide differently.

Content note: We are mindful about the possibility that you may have had very similar experiences regarding to the situations we chose. You decide whether you want to continue the exercise or skip the situation. Please take care about yourself.

exercise

Debriefing

Emphasize the importance of own experiences for recognizing and interpreting situations and of addressing discrimination in its various forms.
Context matters and at the same time we can assume if a situation belongs to discrimination because of structural and institutional manifestation of discrimination.
You may have found the question of the exercise misleading because, in your opinion, the examples are obviously discriminatory. How you felt about this exercise is a good indicator of how sensitive you are to discrimination. In our trainings, we experience that the participants position themselves very differently, as they have different images and their own experiences about the given situations. It is also interesting to see in which situations you have more clearly taken a side or are more likely to waver because the context would make a decisive difference for you. Further on, we will develop a more precise understanding and sensitivity to discrimination. Above all, this exercise is intended to initiate your reflection process.
Transition into the next part of the training, building upon the first ideas that were shared and facilitating reflection on intentional and unintentional discrimination. This part is necessary to create a space for reflection and conclusion for this exercise.

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