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Exercise 2: Going to group

Last night I went to the men’s group with Jack, and as I suspected, I was the only Latino there. It wasn’t a good experience. I told them Jorge’s story, and many of the men told me that I should call the police. I told them that would not be possible because calling the police meant putting Jorge’s immigration status at risk. They told me that deporting Jorge would be a good solution as he could not continue mistreating his wife. They don’t understand that this is the last thing my sister-in-law Blanca would want, or how it would destroy the family. Because of their reaction, I realized that Anglos often don’t realize that we live different realities, even if they have good intentions. One of the men even said that we would not resolve the issue of domestic violence as long as more Latinos kept coming to the United States, implying that all Latin@s are sexist and violent. This made me feel very bad, and I was surprised that Jack didn’t say anything. I will never return to that group, but I still have to find help for Jorge, Blanca and their children.

Questions for reflection

1. What happened in group that made Freddy feel bad?

    

2. What cultural problems can be indentified in this story among Anglos and Latin@s? Which of Freddy’s cultural values and realities was the group unable to understand?

    

3. If you were Jack, what would you do in this situation?