Читать книгу Counseling the Culturally Diverse - Laura Smith L. - Страница 27

Emotional resistance is perhaps the major obstacle to multicultural understanding, because it blocks a trainee's ability to acknowledge, understand, and make meaning out of strong and powerful feelings associated with multicultural or diversity topics. The manifestation and dynamics of emotional resistance are aptly described by Sara Winter (1977, p. 24), a White female psychologist. Although the narrative was given decades ago, it remains relevant today. Winter provides some insights as to why this occurs: it serves to protect people from having to examine their own prejudices and biases.

When someone pushes racism into my awareness, I feel guilty (that I could be doing so much more); angry (I don't like to feel like I'm wrong); defensive (I already have two Black friends … I worry more about racism than most whites do—isn't that enough); turned off (I have other priorities in my life with guilt about that thought); helpless (the problem is so big—what can I do?). I HATE TO FEEL THIS WAY. That is why I minimize race issues and let them fade from my awareness whenever possible.