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form of behavior displaying positive relational work that is intentionally appropriate to the context,

speaker, and the hearer. Within the context of dialogue and disagreement, polite speech and

behavior are often used in place of candor and authentic expressions. Being overly polite may be

interpreted as insincere, inappropriate, or condescending. Additionally, “over-politeness is often

perceived as negative because it exceeds the boundary between appropriateness and

inappropriateness” (Locher, 2004, p. 90). Locher’s research also studied the concept of

disagreement and its relationship to power. She noted, “Disagreement is likely to involve the

exercise of power, because it entails a conflict and therefore also a clash of interests” (2004, p. 93).

My research data has included reactions caused by the exercise of power among participants.

Gutmann and Thompson (1996) characterized disagreements occurring in deliberation as

“conflicts of moral reason [that] deeply divide citizens to the extent that no resolution seems

possible on any fair terms of cooperation” (p.73). Essed’s (1991) research identified conflicts

caused by the structural and systemic effects of “everyday racism” (p. 2) as expressed through the

interactions of people from majority and minority groups. Everyday racism “connects the

structural forces of racism with routine situations in everyday life” (p. 2). The concept of “cultural

control, in which one group competes with other groups to maximize its advantages” (p. 203) helps

explain tension producing behavior. Essed’s exploration into forms of cultural control offered a

lens to view behaviors that in some way could contribute to tensions and conflicts between

members of dominant/majority and dominated/minority groups. The research explores four forms

of cultural control:

1. Majority rule, a mechanism that operates to reinforce the dominant consensus on race;
2. Cultural non-recognition through denial of historical roots or of cultural identity;
3. Rejection of ethnic behavior; and
4. Ethnization with the purpose of encapsulation. (Essed, 1991, p. 204)

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