I have a deep love for those kinds of people, rich or poor, who are of the utmost respect, humble, hardworking and are good to their families and to strangers. The love is there, but how does this apply in communication and being a positive deviant in this process. I have been a positive deviant involving my actions many times, even at times where I was not all that positive. For example, two instances last year that shook my very core, first I witnessed a Border and Customs official handle a little girl like a grown man, even putting her hands behind her back and twisting her elbow and shoulder. Secondly, I saw a UTEP frat boy, a boy in every sense of the word, throw a mop down on the floor and then make fun of the cleaning lady. In both occasions, I physically confronted both people, I cannot be a decent man during an indecent time, I enacted what I know in my heart was right to do, and in a way I was a positive deviant to avoid abuse and manipulation.
I am aware that my actions might have or might have not communicated the right message, but since then I have definitely changed my ways when it comes to dealing with conflict. I encourage everyone in El Paso to enact positive deviance, and it can be done with very simple acts that communicate so much, they communicate things in our minds and body, things that are so small that they are said to have never existed in our consciousness or we pay no mind to the affects, or they can communicate compassion, love, and respect. All can be achieved with random acts of kindness, and positive deviance. I have been a positive deviance by acting differently with my students and people, although I am still very outgoing, when I encounter disrespect I address differently, and in a very subtle way by giving people the example. I tell them “punctuality, not apologies, I am glad you are here, take a seat.”
When at public places I pick up after myself at a restaurant, or pick a piece of garbage, and treat working people with respect, such as servers, custodians, and even further I take great pride in meeting people and always making it a point to hug or kiss people. Where I am from, you do not let people eat by themselves, so I join them if they are eating alone, where I am from you ask a young ladies parents permission to date their daughter, so I do, where I am from you treat a woman with respect, and I learned all this from my family and mother, and it is because we are Mexican, everything happens in the kitchen, and in that place a lot got cultivated in me. I encourage everyone through positive deviance and compassion, to enact on urges that otherwise might make you feel awkward, be an adventurer, take risks, hug a stranger, touch a friend when you see them, stand up for what is right, have compassion for those you might not even consider, be grateful for your home and the working people who built it, Thank them, through positive deviance, pick up after yourself, watch your language and actions in front of the young ones, give people your undivided attention.
Being a positive deviant, is the best kind of deviant one can be. So, why not add it to your repertoire of personality attributes. Help the person with the huge amount of grocery bags, help someone push a car to safety, give your partner-husband-wife-boyfriend-girlfriend etc a foot rub after a hard day or after an amazing day. Small acts can affect a person a lot, with positive deviance it can be achieved, so let your desire run wild.
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