Laserfiche WebLink
6 <br /> <br />As one participant put it, “People feel like they won and have permission [to mistreat others]. This <br />makes it scary. Many of us now don’t want to shop, send kids to school. We fear harassment in <br />public.” Another participant: “I have been in this country since 1951. As an immigrant, this is the <br />most hateful and fearful time. It has always been here, but [now] it is huge and dangerous and <br />scary. I am more aware of other communities. I want this community to figure out how to respond <br />in a real way, quickly and loudly, and not wait until someone gets killed.” <br /> <br />One of the most striking features of those participating in the ten focus groups – despite the post- <br />election fear factor – is their resilience in the face of adversity. While we will speak below about <br />the types of emotionally damaging and sometimes frightening experiences members of all groups <br />have undergone and continue to confront, all were intent on finding ways to thrive. In this regard, <br />resilience was clearly reliant on in-group relationships of support, coupled with a shared sense of <br />group pride and worth. Being with people like themselves, when it was possible, provided <br />members of the focus groups sanctuary from being judged by members of the dominant majority* <br />and being found to be “less than.” As one Asian American participant put it, “People in Eugene are <br />interested in Asian cultures, but not in getting to know the people.” A similar distancing was <br />experienced by members of all of the focus groups. <br /> <br />Each of the ten groups had a unique flavor, depending upon the makeup of the group. There were <br />differences in each group’s characteristics in terms of participants’ ages, length of time residing in <br />Eugene, experiences prior to residing here, current degree of engagement with the broader <br />Eugene community and their visibility as being different from members of the dominant majority. <br />Each focus group’s characteristics helped to drive its discussion. Though each group was <br />presented with identical questions, participants often responded to one another’s comments and <br />moved the discussion in new directions. Out of these varying focus groups and discussions, flowed <br />our findings and recommendations. <br /> <br />* The “dominant majority” refers to whites in the case of communities of color; non-Muslims in the case of Muslims; non-members <br />of the LGBTQ community in the case of those who are part of the LBGTQ population; and, at times, white LGBTQ community <br />members in the case of people of color in the LGBTQ community. <br /> <br /> <br /> Findings: Theme-Based <br /> <br />Theme #1: Characteristics of Discrimination <br /> <br />The discrimination that participants in our ten focus groups have faced has involved race, sexual <br />orientation, religion, national origin, class, housing status and gender discrimination. <br />Discrimination comes in many forms: institutional discrimination, group discrimination and <br />personal discrimination. Whether it is intentional or unintentional, discrimination is harmful to <br />the persons on the receiving end and reduces the quality of life for all. Here are some of the <br />comments made by focus group participants. (The labels in parentheses refer to the focus group in <br />which the statement was expressed.) <br /> <br />• You are acceptable “because you are acting white”. (African American) <br />• I would tell a parent not to send their kid to Sheldon; I have never felt welcome there. Too <br />white to hang out with the black kids and too black to hang out with the white kids. <br />(Biracial Youth) <br />September 12, 2018, Work Session - Item 1