For this activity, you will: 1) read a brief explanation of reactions, 2) watch a video 3) reflect on your reaction to the video.
- As humans, when we encounter something, there are specific ways we react. Our reactions typically fall under the following categories: Encounter, Denial, Disorientation, Shame, Self-righteousness, Awakening, Active Participation. (Hill, “7 Steps to Cultural Awakening”, White Awake, 2017.)
Encounter: This is the first time we experience something. We don’t have much of a reaction about it one way or another, necessarily. At this point, it is just something we observe, and try to take in. It is happening, but we are not mentally processing it.
Denial: This is the refusal to believe something is true. You stand firm in your belief that it is wrong, and refuse to accept what you are hearing. You are unwilling to open your mind to the idea that goes against your belief.
Disorientation: When you are disoriented you feel lost or confused. When you visit a new place for the first time, you might feel disoriented because you are literally lost and confused about where to go. This can happen mentally, when you are trying to understand something new. You can become disoriented because you have lost your sense of who you are or what you know.
Shame: The dictionary defines shame as a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior. When you are experiencing shame, you might feel a combination of regret, self hate and/or embarrassment.
Self-righteousness: People rarely bring themselves to admit their self-righteousness, which is when you feel you are superior (better than) someone else. Where does this come from? Usually, it is when you believe that your beliefs, actions, understandings and experience is “holier” or “better” or “more in the right” than someone else, or the average person in general.
Awakening: When you are awakened in a literal sense, you wake up. We do this every morning! But this type of awakening is when you suddenly become aware of something. You didn’t know it existed before, or didn’t accept it. Now, you do.
Active Participation: When you react from this space, you are experiencing something you have already bought into. You are coming to it as an active collaborator and member of the community. You have an understanding, and have had it for a while. As you watch your experience unfold, you may not have as intense of a reaction because this is not something new. Conversely, you might have a wildly intense reaction, because you are so fired up about the cause.
As you watch the video below, pay attention to how you react. Check in with yourself. Which category (or two) best describes your initial reaction to the video. Be honest with yourself and don’t overthink it. You’ll have a chance to reflect later on. Right now, just confront the reality of your first reaction. Your responses are completely anonymous.
We don’t have control over our physiological, instinctive reaction to something new. We do, however, have control over how we choose to respond. In order to get from a place of reaction to a healthy response, we need to take time to reflect.
How do you feel about the reaction you had to the video? For example, if you responded with denial, you might feel angry at yourself for that. You might feel surprised by your denial. You might feel angry at the content of the video because it goes against what you believe… in that case, you would feel confident or content in your reaction.
The final step here is to unpack our emotions a little further. Whether we understand them or not, there are reasons behind our emotions. They have causes, and serve a purpose. For example, the purpose of fear is to protect us from danger. When we feel fear, we respond by wanting to run or fight… all to keep us safe.
Here are some sentence frames which I encourage you to use as you reflect on your reactions and emotions. You can use these in your real life whenever you experience an emotion you don’t quite understand. Please use the space below to type in a response, and unpack as many emotions as you need!
Anger: I feel angry at my reaction because ___________. The purpose of anger is to fight against problems. The problem I see here, within myself is ____________. This makes me angry because ____________.
Fear: I am fearful of my reaction because ___________. The purpose of fear is to protect from danger. The danger I see here, within myself is _______________. This makes me fearful because ____________.
Anticipation: I feel anticipation because ___________. The purpose of anticipation is to look toward the future and plan. What I am looking forward to is __________. I want to plan for __________.
Surprise: I am surprised at my reaction because _____________. The purpose of surprise is to focus on new situations. A new situation or understanding I have about myself now is _____________. It surprises me that I felt / thought __________.
Joy/Power: I felt joy / power because ____________. The purpose of joy / power is to remind us what is important. I am reminded of the importance of _________________. This makes me feel joyful or powerful because __________.
Sadness: I felt sadness at my reaction because _________. The purpose of sadness is to remind us we desire to connect with those we love. I recognize I have a desire to connect with ___________ and to feel ___________.
Trust: I felt trust in my reaction because ___________. The purpose of trust is to connect with people, and to help. I realize now that I can trust my response to _____________ and I feel confident in my understanding that _______________.
Disgust: I felt disgusted in my reaction because ___________. The purpose of disgust is to reject what is unhealthy. I realize now that it is unhealthy to _________________. I want to change the fact that I thought / felt __________________.
You can now view results here.
Next step? Connect and Engage
Social + Justice + You 