Describe a situation in which you, as a member of a group?

Question

Describe a situation in which you, as a member of a group, strongly disagreed with the actions of the group based on ethical grounds. Did you feel free to voice your opinion, or did you feel pressure to conform to the group? Explain whether or not you expressed your thoughts to the group, and what happened afterwards. How did the group’s culture affect your decision whether or not to speak out, and the group’s response?

Answer 1

oh, family funerals

i dont believe at all, very strongly dont believe

and so i dont sing the hymns etc or say the prayers

and i have to admit to having done it, sang hymns, at my grans funeral ,i did felt pressure to conform cos it was an important family member to me, and everyone there

even tho i knew i was pagan and non believer in god, and had already not done it at 1 or 2 before

no i dont tell anyone, i dont want to express my opinion then ,

its a funeral, theres bigger things going on there than my own little personal issues

but, nor do i feel free to do so

the culture not much, just my own respect for the deceased and the people mourning

also

im vege for about 16 years

that was a tough beginning, no-one took me seriously

no i didn't feel free,to voice my opinion,  but i was very young and impetuous so i didnt care much what they thought about it

and so i expressed it a lot, and my thoughts on animals treatment

no i didnt feel the pressure to conform, i was very non conformist then

what happened afterwards

hm pretty much 'yeah i know your vege i get it'

some argued for meat eating, blabbed on about wearing leather

as i said, i wasnt taken seriously for about the 1st 2 or 3 years,

their culture didn't affect my decision at all, i stuck with it,

and their response, i dunno, i suppose 'well thats frou for you she loves animals'

Answer 2

In an English class in my degree we studied 'Heart of Darkness' by Jasper Conrad. If you don't know, the book follows a white explorer's journey through the Congo part based on Conrad's own experiences. The descriptions of black people are really derogatory and the language is shocking comparing them to animals etc. We were asked if the main character was racist, everyone said yes straight away. I thought it couldn't be classed as racist by a modern audience. In my opinion although the language in today's context is racist and unacceptable, reading deeper into the book, it is still a lot further thinking than other texts of that time, and the main character does disagree with the treatment of the black people. I hesitated to say this because I was the only white person in the class, but when I voiced by opinion the lecturer agreed with me, and a couple of other students agreed and others saw my point. I did hesitate however, but stood by my opinion, there were no hard feelings in the group at all.

Answer 3

I walked into my local gym and found 3 of my best mates were picking on a distant cousin of mine I hadn't seen in years, I beat them up.

Family before anything.

Answer 4

My Dad brought me up with the moral that it was inherent in our nature to "speak your mind" or "forever hold your peace".

He said that withholding our feelings and "not speaking" up was like wanting to be chained forever and live like a slave to and for that group or thing.

I have OFTEN spoken my feelings, beliefs and disagreements. I have been excluded from some groups because of that and other times I have changed the group's point of view. However, one must fully KNOW our ethics and hold on to them at all costs.

In other words, if your DO THE TALK be most ready to DO THE WALK.