Understanding Differences

Understanding Differences

Contents:

  1. Article/Fact Sheets
  2. Videos

1. Articles/Fact Sheets:

Coping With the Stigma of Mental Illness
This article gives some tips for how to cope with the stigma that is often associated with mental health disorders and illness.

Navigating Discrimination
This article discusses and defines discrimination, looks at its health impacts, and gives strategies for how to cope with it on an individual basis.

Communicating with Children on Discrimination
This article explores the importance of discussing discrimination with children. It gives guidelines and strategies for how to have these ongoing conversations.


2. Videos:

Weird or Just Different? (Video)
In this Ted Talk Derek Sivers encourages us to examine our assumptions to see that there are many ways to look at things.

The Muslim on the Airplane
In this talk, a Syrian-American poet Amal Kassir argues that we no longer ask people their name, we give it to them based on the color of their skin, and what they wear on their head. She urges the listeners to cross the threshold of fear and ask a simple question, "what's your name?"
I’m Mexican. Does that Change Your Assumptions about Me?
In this talk, Vanessa Vancour, a Mexican-American, encourages everyone to take a moment and think before jumping to conclusions about people who look different than us.

Hiding in Plain Sight -- My Life as an Undocumented American
In this talk, Leezia Dhalla, a first-generation American, talks about her struggles as an undocumented immigrant. She talks about the American dream and how everyone of us was given a chance to fulfill their American Dream by someone who came here before them. She encourages her audience to help her and people like her achieve their American Dream.

I Am Not Your Asian Stereotype
In this talk, Canwen Xu, a Chinese-American, shares her story of growing up Asian-American and struggling to reconcile her Chinese heritage with her American identity. She agrees that race issues are controversial but encourages her audience to remain open to talking about racial conflict.

Resilience: Turning Adversity into Opportunity
In this talk, writer and artist Muniba Mazari shares her story of how she became wheel chair bound but is not limited in her art or what she can accomplish in life. She encourages her audience not to get discouraged by life's challenges but to learn to thrive in the face of adversity.