a nation of veal calves
Microaggressions.
Apparently microaggressions are a New Evil to be stamped out utilizing the tools of social-pressure and institutional force. This horror is something so devastating and damaging to the psyches of those affected by them that it endangers their very ability to carry on in Life.
There’s beginning to be waged a battle — a Holy Righteousness War — against microaggressions, initially being launched on college campus. As we know, what grows there spreads like a yeast throughout our Kulchah.
So what is a microaggression?
A microaggression is a brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignity, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicates a hostile, derogatory, or negative slight or insult toward people of non-dominant identities. [Smith College]
“people of non-dominant identities” …hm
People of non-dominant identities apparently are invulnerable to “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities that communicate a hostile, derogatory, or negative slight or insult.” Sounds like every trip I make to Safeway — certainly every trip to the DMV…
[Not sure if/which way I qualify... I am a woman; gingerish; Irish ["need not apply"] and German and other whatnot; committed hetero…. I likely need expensive advice from an Academic Social Sciences Professional to unravel this conundrum.]
There are even such things as “Microassault,” “Microinsult”, “Microinvalidation,” and “Microrape.”
A “Microinvalidation” is “Characterized by communications that exclude, negate, or nullify the psychological thoughts, feelings, or experiential reality of a person.*”
[Is that like having someone assume that because I believe a country must control its borders to actually be a country that I am "afraid of people who don't look like me" and I therefore "cling to my guns and religion"?]
Let’s look at some clarifying examples from the “Microaggressions Project” wherein “regular people” post examples of those vile transgressions they have experienced.
“Yeah, I just don’t know what’s up with them, they’re all crazy. All these women are just getting married or engaged, most of the girls in my office too… What’s up with that? I mean, they’re, like, 20 or something. Slow down, girls, no need to make yourselves look bad!”Said on a bus, by two men behind me, about 25-30-years-old, both with business suits on.
I am a 16-year-old girl.
I felt angry, humiliated, ashamed, invisible. Those women’s life choices [and their respective partners'] had nothing to do with those men. I felt like I couldn’t do anything right, and that no matter my achievements or my choices, there would always be men to look down on me and criticise [sic] me and I wouldn’t have a voice to speak out with.
This girl allowed used a statement made by random strangers on a bus about other random strangers to ruin her day/ week/month/Life.
Though she has the ability to see that “those women’s life choices had nothing to do with those men” and then concludes that they shouldn’t have been commenting, she completely lacks any notion that those men’s comments had absolutely nothing to do with her. [And perhaps she shouldn't have been eavesdropping...] Instead she chose to take them to heart to such a extent that she “felt like I couldn’t do anything right.” It made her feel “felt angry, humiliated, ashamed, invisible.”
Key words: “made me feel.” Another example:
My MCAT instructor keeps referring to the writer of our passages with male pronouns when they do not list an author by name. Made me feel stupid/unvalued… like if our instructor doesn’t think women are smart enough to help write the MCAT, the most certainly aren’t smart enough to be doctors.
Why? Where does someone get the idea that Other People are even capable of making you feel anything? How does any competent adult with a modicum of self-sufficiency or self-direction allow a teacher, a casual acquaintance or a complete stranger on a freakin’ bus MAKE them feel anything?!?
This is the social/interpersonal corollary of ObamaKare. In Socialized Health Kare we are all [forced to be] financially responsible for others’ medical care payments and, thus, it only makes financial sense to attempt to collectively force others into behaviors which will cost us less $$$. [yeah. eww]
On the social/interpersonal level, if we are all emotionally responsible for others’ feeeeeelings, we are obliged to modify our behavior to ensure their feelings are “ok.” [IOW co-dependency; a dysfunction wherein one *attempts to* control others by modifying our own behavior.] [then our own thoughts, feelings, ...]
What ever happened to healthy boundaries? Things like, “I think the way I do because I’ve used reason and facts to consider things thoroughly and arrive at conclusions that suit me.”
What about, “Others’ opinion of me is none of my business.” Or, “I must have respect for someone before I consider their opinion as potentially useful or valid.”
And the old standby, “Life is full of half-baked a-holes [and damfools] with casually tossed out opinions. It’s also full of casually tossed out, used MaccyD’s wrappers. Why would I waste half a second considering either?”
Now we will be increasingly cudgeled Nudged into restricting what we say because, apparently, everyone else is walking around in a state of raw open wounded oozing victimhood, heir to every ill-considered, mis-interpreted word, thoughtless deed or cross glance.
And it’s not enough that we be seeeensitive on our own behalf — now we gotta be seeeensitive on behalf of Others’ imagined wounds. Next up: imagined Others’ imagined wounds. Howinhell ya gonna do that?!? Howinhell ya gonna accomplish anything else — like saving the planet with cheap, sustainable fuels?!
Remember “Cowboy up,” “Keep Calm and Carry On,” and “Oh get over yourself!” How about “Simmer down and tend to yer knittin’.” These are the attitudes that won wars, conquered nations and wildernesses, created the most comfort and ease enjoyed by Humans evar. [The Ease that, paradoxically, gave us the excess time and resources to afford being so goldanged seeeensitive... BTNIN]
And what about, “Ignore a bully and you remove his power.” Nope. Now we empower bullies to the point where everyone thinks it perfectly natural [albeit traaaagic] that someone would actually hang themselves [the ultimate act of hostility] because they were being bullied.
Bullying™ is at least an intentional behavior: “You’re stupid and ugly” in various “creative” forms. And what is suggested to Eliminate Bullying™? Bullying children into stopping the bullying behavior. No energy / effort / thought at all is put into teaching those on the receiving end how to resist or ignore or cope with it.
How about responding with, “Yeah? So?”
Or: “He said what? Well, who would say that but an a-hole? Why would you listen to an a-hole?”
Or even, “Quit bothering other people and finish your homework.”