Читать книгу The Communication Playbook - Teri Kwal Gamble - Страница 132

Clues to self-understanding come to you continually as you engage with others in physical and digital environments. To understand yourself, you need to be open to information that others give you. Just as we tend to categorize ourselves and others, they do the same for us. For better or worse, the categorization process is a basic part of interpersonal communication.

We classify people according to their roles, their status, their material possessions, their personality traits, their physical and vocal qualities, their skills and accomplishments, the number of “likes” they receive, and the number of followers they have. Which of these are most important to you? Which do you imagine are most important to the significant people in your life? How do others help shape your image of yourself? How do they enhance or belittle your sense of self?

Ethics and Communication

Combatting Stigma, Stereotypes, and Prejudice

We define stigma as extreme disapproval resulting from prejudice and stereotypes that leads to discrimination and the promotion of shame in those targeted.

How might stigma attached to the elderly, the physically disabled, and those suffering from mental illnesses affect them? What messages do we send older, physically challenged, and mentally ill individuals regarding assessments of their worth and abilities? Stigma and negative preconceptions are among the significant barriers people in these groups have to combat.

Our society is both age-conscious (people classify us and treat us certain ways because of how old or young we appear to be) and age-obsessed (many people fixate on looking and acting youthful).

The Chinese, in contrast, respect age. As part of a cultural exchange program, the Chinese sent experienced scholars in their 50s and 60s to the United States and expressed offense when the United States, in return, sent young adults to China.³³ In Arab cultures, the proverb “A house without an elderly person is like an orchard without a well” expresses their view of aging. Contrast this with the U.S. practice of segregating elderly people from the rest of society by encouraging them to live in retirement communities and nursing homes. Because the elderly often assimilate society’s devalued appraisals of them, unfortunately, many suffer from lower self-esteem.³⁴

We also have stereotyped and discriminated against those who are physically challenged or mentally ill. Although there has been some improvement, many persist in predicting negative outcomes when relating to people believed to be disabled, partly because they are seen as dependent, potentially unstable, and more easily offended than the able-bodied. Employers also worry about the costs of accommodating them.³⁵

To combat discrimination and change the way people respond, develop a checklist of suggestions for combatting ageism and stigmas attached to being physically or mentally challenged.³⁶