(photo from Canvas)
Dr. Lesther Papa’s journey starts in the Central Pacific island of Kauai. Lesther Papa grew up in Kauai, Hawaii with his immigrant parents.
Lesther Papa was an excellent student, starting from kindergarten, entering both middle school and high school, to earning his Doctorate degree. Academics were a big focus for Lesther, he earned awards and was an honor roll student. When he first received a C in high school, his parents suggested that Lesther attend summer school. His parents wanted him to be successful, they were keeping him from “ending up like them”. Lesther’s parents sacrificed to have him have a different life. His story starts here.
Microaggression can happen in everyday instances of racism. Microaggressions are those everyday, often subtle, interactions and/or behaviors that communicate bias toward marginalized groups. This can refer to an insult of any marginalized group, not only to race, but gender, sexual orientation, or disability.
Lesther went to a local grocery store one day, he was waiting in the middle of a line of people to purchase his collection. Once he reached the register, the cashier canceled his transaction and told him the EBT key was elsewhere. Lesther told the cashier they were mistaken and he did not have an EBT card, but a regular debit card. That day, Lesther realized it was not just a little mistake. Out of all the people in front and behind Lesther in line, the cashier did not ask them for an EBT key card. This experience shows how he was othered. There was a level of understanding what wasn’t met.
The story makes us recognize to be compassionate. When putting ourselves into other’s shoes we understand the different perspectives, their values, experiences, and their cultural values. Storytelling and sharing personal narratives helps us to learn and understand one’s background and where their roots and the way they are shaped come from. This helps us to build connections with different individuals and diverse groups. Storytelling can also break barriers of stereotypes and offer a fresh perspective.
I came across a student from a country 3,600+ miles away from Alaska and became quite close friends with them. We barely got to know one another because it was just the beginning of our friendship. One day they ask me where I am originally from and immediately ask if the people from my community often drink alcoholic beverages. I was taken aback by their question. My thought was drifting towards wondering if people 3,000 miles away view most Natives as alcoholics or some sort. My answer is no, my Yup’ik community does not often do such things. My friend did not know much of my background and the community’s background yet, at the time. If I had told them stories about my community, they would have pushed aside their thoughts of that topic.
Our cultural background shapes our beliefs and values. They impact the way we understand others. Personal experiences and cultural background helps us to understand and connect with others on a deep level from within the diverse cultural backgrounds. It helps us to recognize some challenges and strengths that individuals face.
I enjoyed watching and listening to the host Professor Christian Stettler and guest Dr. Lesther Papa’s episode 40 podcast. I related to Lesther when he spoke about his experience in the store. As a Yup’ik Alaska Native, people often think that I also run on EBT key cards, but I have not had one before. I actually did not know what an EBT card was until a cashier asked if I also had one, they were in shock that I did not know what they were. The cashier had to explain to me what one was. I did not mention the story about when Lesther went to a hotel in the mainland US, he went to eat breakfast, but the food option was not what he wanted. Lesther asked for rice to eat for breakfast. I enjoyed learning about Lesther’s story.
Sarai Gomez
In some aspects, I related deeply to Lesther. I think its common for immigrant/ minority parents to strongly encourage their children to pursue a higher education. We see it as a pipeline to escape poverty and ear respect in the world.
Something else I appreciated was the definition of microaggression. I mentioned in my blog that racism has changed. Although blatant racism is still very much present, subtle racism is prominent. Microaggressions are the route people choose. Especially at work. Its harder to point out exactly what they said that is racist, making it harder to report. It also provides an easier escape to deny that the microaggression behavior was “misunderstood”
Neveah Reese
Lesther did such an amazing job teaching through his life experiences and I believe that’s what made this podcast so great. I think you did great pointing out the fact that microaggressions have more to do than just race. It can be used based on gender, religion, communities you may be apart of, sexual orientation, etc. Lesther’s stories, even if not exactly what you experienced, reminded us all of a time that we felt off about how someone treated us or approached us. It can be confusing, especially when the interactions are not hostile, but rather regular. Thinking about these moments can help us be more aware on how we interact with others. Christian asked a great question about how to word things to sound genuine. How do you ask a question without coming off as rude or ignorant? I often think this as well, since I am a naturally curious person who likes to learn about people. I liked Lesther’s answer of essentially doing your best to be kind and genuine and to not take it personally if they don’t want to answer you. Overall, I learned so much through this podcast and believe teaching through personal experience is so special.
John Da Broi
I really enjoyed listening to this. And how you describe some of the important markings in Lesther’s life that helped guide him to becoming the man he is currently today. I think it is a shame that people need to have a hardship that will impact them for their whole lives to be a solution to that problem they experienced.
Mollie Bernhoft
I think your post did a really good job highlighting the personal experiences that were shared by Lesther in the podcast. Listening to him explain the motivations behind his parent’s pressure for him to succeed academically, I realized that I had failed to realize that motivations were not solely for betterment or opportunity, but when he mentioned an education earns respect it gave me a larger perspective on the impact discrimination and socioeconomic status has in the lives of others, exercising my empathy and awareness. You highlighted that microaggressions are not just used for racism but can target any “marginalized” group. Which is important for people to know, so that when faced with it they can recognize its form and validate their response. It was refreshing to listen to Lesther, he was humble of his accomplishments, and very personable/charismatic which made it easy to connect to his perspective and understand the impact of microaggressions, even if made unintentionally, the intentions don’t matter, and don’t change the harmful results of microaggressions.
Elizabeth Jackson
Great job bringing together your experiences with outgroups and Dr. Lesther Papa’s story and their similarities. It is common to see parents of lower socioeconomic status like Lesther prioritize education and value knowledge and success. Good education can provide children with better opportunities for financial stability and success in the future as a way of honoring cultural heritage and challenging historical injustices. It is so inspiring to see people who grew up with fewer opportunities and resources to achieve higher education. Especially how Lesther failed his calculus exam but still believed he belonged and deserved to complete higher education. It is so important to be culturally competent and put our stereotypes and prejudices aside, and engage in dialog that lets us learn more about cultures. Thank you for sharing!
Sammy Rivera Munoz
Awesome blog Deandra! I liked how you portrayed a great imagery of what microaggression means, linking it to Dr. Lesther Papa’s and your own experiences. It is unfortunate that people have so many assumptions about certain cultures, mostly minorities, that usually lead to microaggressions and racism.
I, too, have experienced microaggressions here in the U.S. Simply because I come from Colombia some people assume that I like doing drugs or that I am not a trustworthy person. I believe Dr. Lesther’s and your experience highlight the importance of raising awareness about these issues and fostering dialogue to address and challenge stereotypes and prejudices. Thank you for your contribution to this discussion, I hope that together we can continue to work towards a more just and inclusive world.