Microaggressions and What Can Be Done About Them (At Ithaca College)
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Heh. I get asked where I'm from all the time, but I don't see it as a microaggression - I see it as people being really quite confused by my accent.
I have a British accent, but it's not one you'll hear on the BBC very often
. When it annoys me is when people ask me if I'm Australian. Nothing against Aussies, but noooo.
I have a British accent, but it's not one you'll hear on the BBC very often
. When it annoys me is when people ask me if I'm Australian. Nothing against Aussies, but noooo.
Amadan
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I'm a bit confused by the purpose of this specific system. Are any consequences imposed against the people guilty of the microaggressions?
I think awareness and teaching people how stuff like this comes across is valuable, but I don't think calling out specific individuals or filing reports against them really serves a purpose unless the person's conduct is egregious (like, actual harassment rather than an ignorant but well-meaning statement). A public complaint against an individual who probably didn't realize they were doing something offensive is likely to make the person feel defensive or embarrassed, and might feel passive-aggressive if the complainant didn't say anything to them directly. The whole point of microaggressions is that they're often done with innocent intentions.
A more general awareness campaign where people could share their experiences without naming specific offenders would be more likely to reach a larger number of people, I think, and people who recognize that they've said/done things that are hurtful can quietly learn from that.
I think there's a specific problem where people who aren't white (especially people of Asian/Middle Eastern descent) sometimes face assumptions that they must be immigrants, even if there's no indication (like an accent) to imply that's the case. I don't think many people are bothered so much when they do have an accent or otherwise show that they're new to the area. But when someone has lived in the country all their lives and doesn't have strong ties to any other culture, I think it can get old to have people assume that they must really be from somewhere else just because of how they look.
I think awareness and teaching people how stuff like this comes across is valuable, but I don't think calling out specific individuals or filing reports against them really serves a purpose unless the person's conduct is egregious (like, actual harassment rather than an ignorant but well-meaning statement). A public complaint against an individual who probably didn't realize they were doing something offensive is likely to make the person feel defensive or embarrassed, and might feel passive-aggressive if the complainant didn't say anything to them directly. The whole point of microaggressions is that they're often done with innocent intentions.
A more general awareness campaign where people could share their experiences without naming specific offenders would be more likely to reach a larger number of people, I think, and people who recognize that they've said/done things that are hurtful can quietly learn from that.
Heh. I get asked where I'm from all the time, but I don't see it as a microaggression - I see it as people being really quite confused by my accent.
I have a British accent, but it's not one you'll hear on the BBC very often
I think there's a specific problem where people who aren't white (especially people of Asian/Middle Eastern descent) sometimes face assumptions that they must be immigrants, even if there's no indication (like an accent) to imply that's the case. I don't think many people are bothered so much when they do have an accent or otherwise show that they're new to the area. But when someone has lived in the country all their lives and doesn't have strong ties to any other culture, I think it can get old to have people assume that they must really be from somewhere else just because of how they look.
I don't understand the purpose of this. Racists, sexists, and jerks abound - it was ever thus. Why does someone need to study them? All I can see is that it will stifle the flow of free conversation.
I frequently complement people on their wardrobe, the colours they wear. Am I being condescending? I am genuinely interested in people's backgrounds, because I think people and different cultures are fascinating. So do the people that I have interacted with and enjoyed conversations with, think I'm racist? I'm appalled. So now, if we have to stop and think before everything comes out of our mouths because it might be construed as (*insert your "ism" here*) it's stifling and a hindrance to social interaction.
Why can't people just assume good intent and then go on with their day?
I frequently complement people on their wardrobe, the colours they wear. Am I being condescending? I am genuinely interested in people's backgrounds, because I think people and different cultures are fascinating. So do the people that I have interacted with and enjoyed conversations with, think I'm racist? I'm appalled. So now, if we have to stop and think before everything comes out of our mouths because it might be construed as (*insert your "ism" here*) it's stifling and a hindrance to social interaction.
Why can't people just assume good intent and then go on with their day?
Perhaps the microaggressors could receive a micropunishment. I vote for being snapped with a rubberband. I think that's fair.
identity politics is a passive exercise unless one is regularly offended. it is this that brings the struggle to life.
Because then they couldn't be "victims", and that seems to be very important nowadays.
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I have a question. Do the people who are dismissive of the idea of micro-aggressions never react in an offended manner to small statements made by others even those made with good intentions?
Amadan
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Sure. I'm not dismissive of the idea of small, unintentional offenses being annoying, or even the idea that the cumulative effect of them can become a greater cause for grief than any individual comment.
I don't have a problem with educating people about why not-ill-intended comments like "Where are you from?" or "You look nice" have some not-so-nice implications.
The problem I have with "microaggressions" is that it's a made-up term calculated to turn such individual comments into a cause of action, to impute intent that is at best negligently hostile and at worst malicious, and to construct a case for a "hostile environment" needing legal remedy. It's meant to create a larger "victim" class.
The problem I have with the specific proposal described in the OP is that it is entirely consistent with "call-out culture" - even if the formal plan is not to take official action against individuals, I'm sure the instigators are hoping for some sort of naming and shaming.
Agree with Amadan here. I hear things that are offensive to me all the time - I'm not going to join a "cause" to try to micro-manage people's speech because of it. Hell, as a female I hear all kinds of things I could get offended by, and even get on my high horse about - but life's too short. I consider the source, consider the person as a whole, and decide on a case by case basis whether it's worth getting in a huff about. Most times, it's not.
Besides agreeing with every word of Amadan's last post, I know I live in the real world. And no matter what anyone or any committee says or does, there will still be things out there that can offend me or hurt my feelings or what have you. If these college students are going to live in the real world after graduation, they should start practicing living in it now so that they have a chance to be productive, happy, secure-with-themselves adults, no matter what people say to them, intentionally hurtful or not.
Free conversation doesn't mean saying whatever comes into your head. I'm sure you take other people's feelings into account all the time. If you know a friend just lost their job, for example, you might not talk about the raise you just got. I would hope we all try not to be overly insensitive.
The reason why education is valuable is because there isn't a strict dichotomy between bigots and people who are perfect. No one is perfect, and most of us mean well but still buy into some prejudiced ideas or accidentally say insensitive things at times. If nobody says, "Hey, asking non-white people where they're really from when you don't assume that white people are immigrants can be insulting," how is anyone supposed to know that it's an issue?
Maybe what you say is fine. It really depends on the context. In general, I think complimenting people on things they're doing or wearing is usually okay on its own. Saying "I love your sari" to a woman who's wearing one is probably okay. Asking a vaguely Indian-looking woman how long she's lived here or where she's "really" from probably isn't.
I have to say, though, that caring more about your right to admire people the way you want than how the people feel isn't very nice. Having good intentions doesn't make another person obligated to feel comfortable.
Knowing that a person means well doesn't make prejudiced comments less hurtful. Sometimes they can be worse, because it means you face prejudice even from people you think of as friends. Personally, casual prejudice from from "nice" people is more pervasive and hurtful than intentional malice.
The system in the OP is badly flawed, but it bothers me to see people here being so dismissive of the problem it's trying to address. This is why people feel the need to create some sort program like this. People are so committed to the idea that prejudice only comes in the former of intentional, hateful bigotry.
I'm still flummoxed by how many people think that their right to say any and every little thing means they shouldn't ever have to consider how what they say might affect other people.
What exactly is so horrible about thinking before you speak? Perhaps we should have a law that says you must vocalize every single stray thought that crosses your mind. See how long it takes before people decide it's a horrible law and out to be over-turned. I'm willing to bet the majority of people in this thread would not be in favor of that law. Why not?
Obviously there are racists and sexists and whatever out there. But what's wrong with trying to reduce the number of them?
No one is saying peoople should curl up in little balls and whine to their Mommy about every single thing someone says that hurts their feelings. It is in fact possible to be a functional mature human being while also acknowledging that people say hurtful things.
Of course, I suppose it's easier to call people professional victims and insecure children than to accept that you might say something that could hurt someone's feelings.
Because that's totally more secure and mature than having a little bit of empathy for another human being.
What exactly is so horrible about thinking before you speak? Perhaps we should have a law that says you must vocalize every single stray thought that crosses your mind. See how long it takes before people decide it's a horrible law and out to be over-turned. I'm willing to bet the majority of people in this thread would not be in favor of that law. Why not?
Obviously there are racists and sexists and whatever out there. But what's wrong with trying to reduce the number of them?
No one is saying peoople should curl up in little balls and whine to their Mommy about every single thing someone says that hurts their feelings. It is in fact possible to be a functional mature human being while also acknowledging that people say hurtful things.
Of course, I suppose it's easier to call people professional victims and insecure children than to accept that you might say something that could hurt someone's feelings.
Because that's totally more secure and mature than having a little bit of empathy for another human being.
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Isn't there a law. I think there is. Let me see if I can dig up a link. Here's one.
So um, yeah. People do have the right to say things that may be insensitive and even hateful. We all know this.
But this isn't about being openly racist or sexist. This is about saying something where you had no idea could be taken that way. Now maybe that happens because the speaker is a bigoted idiot who should know better. Maybe he really does know better but doesn't care.
Or maybe it was meant one way, without malice, and the person hearing it is assigning something to it that was not intended. And maybe that's because it was badly said. Or maybe it's because the person hearing it is just being overly critical.
So we're gonna have this group that you can complain to so they can create a file on an individual who never gets the chance to tell his or her side, clear the air, etc. To be brought out and used when it's most convenient?
Amadan
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Who has said that here?
I'm sure somewhere on the Internet you can find someone who's expressed that opinion, but if that's how you characterize me or anyone else here who's challenging the concept of "microaggressions," I think that is, not to put too fine a point on it, disingenuous.
It doesn't matter. If you say something racist without meaning to, it's still racist. It doesn't make the speaker a bad person, but it's still racist. Nobody is saying that people who commit microaggressions are bigoted people.
If your kid repeats a swear word without knowing what it meant, do you just ignore it? Or do you gently explain what the word means and let them know that some people find it rude?
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That's true.
But a lot of times, the calling out that occurs in the case of microaggressions is not "gentle" and does not distinguish between a bad person and a person who said a bad thing, and if one objects to being "called out," well, one is "tone policing," which is also a bad thing.
Additionally, there can be legitimate differences of opinion over whether or not something was, in fact, racist and offensive.
Except not in the world of call-out culture, in which offense is always in the eye of the (less privileged) beholder and the privileged are never entitled to defend themselves or argue.
These are the points I think you are missing in your disbelief that anyone would question microaggressions - it's not simply a matter of racist people wanting to say racist things without being challenged.
Isn't alerting someone to anything they say that someone, somewhere might possibly find offensive in itself a form of microaggression? It sounds pretty friggin' irritating to me.